Scholarships celebrate next generation of agricultural leaders

By Ry Clarke

Southern Alberta Newspapers

Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

T

hree students pursuing their careers through post-secondary education will have less financial stress thanks to the Rotary Lethbridge East and its $10,000 Agriculture Scholarship to help support the next generation of agricultural leaders as they pursue their education.

Emma Knodel, Nyomi Brobbel, and Makayla Gross were honoured earlier this month at the Coast Lethbridge Hotel and Conference Centre, where a banquet dinner was held to celebrate and announce the scholarship recipients.

“We have 200 guests here tonight celebrating the recipients of the scholarships,” said Glenn Coulter of the scholarship organizing committee. “We believe agriculture is extremely important to the economy of southern Alberta. What we are trying to do is help the future leaders in agriculture get a kickstart to really be able to do some of the things that they might not have the opportunity to do otherwise.”

Knodel is a third-year agronomy student in the Bachelor of Agriculture Science program at Lethbridge College. Her interest in soul science is leading her to continue her studies by obtaining a Masters of Science to pursue a career in soul analysis. Knodel has a family farm near Enchant.

“When I got the phone call, I was in my living room jumping up and down I was so excited,” said Knodel. “I feel very motivated to keep doing what I’m doing. I am excited to move past my bachelor’s degree and move onto my Master’s.”

Brobbel is in her third year at the University of Calgary, studying to become a large animal veterinarian in the southern Alberta region. She said the scholarship will help her maintain focus in her studies without financial stress. Brobbel hails from Fort Macleod.

“Going into veterinary medicine without a massive amount of debt really help keep your head on the veterinarian side of things,” said Brobbel. “Veterinarians are already prone to burnout, and a lot of emotional mental health issues. If you can keep the debt down, that can really help yourself and help the producers that you are working with.”

Gross is completing her third year at the University of Lethbridge studying for her Bachelor of Management, majoring in marketing. She says the scholarship will help her as she pursues a career in the agri-food industry. Gross hails from Bow Island.

“As someone young coming upt through the ranks of the agriculture industry, it means a lot to be able to be picked out from everybody who applied,” said Gross. “The connections that we make, both through the Rotary Club and all the sponsorships, are incredible and will open up doors of opportunity for jobs in different areas.”

The scholarships were the Rotary Club’s ninth, tenth, and eleventh to be awarded as the organization looks to continue the tradition and help support students and future leaders of tomorrow.

“It will be interesting to see what support we get from the community and from the agricultural industry,” Coulter said. “If it is anything like it has been over the last five years, we will be in good shape.”

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