Syngenta Partners with FFA to Award Students With Scholarships

• Six U.S. college students won Syngenta Accelerating a Generation Scholarships.
• Each winner received a $2,500 scholarship and a $500 donation to their preferred charities.
• Syngenta supports the ag scholarships to encourage future leaders.

College senior Johanna Hooten has two goals: be the first in her family to receive a college degree and earn that degree without taking on student loan debt. A Syngenta Accelerating a Generation Scholarship — one of six awards given annually to students seeking agriculture degrees — is helping her achieve just that.

Hooten calls the Accelerating a Generation Scholarship "a true blessing." The scholarship is helping her remain debt-free while finishing her degree at Murray State University in southwest Kentucky.

Hooten was fascinated by pumpkins and watermelons as a child. That fascination grew into a passion for agriculture. She finds joy in teaching others about agriculture, and this is what drove her to pursue a degree in horticulture.

“I know that the only way to give others reliable information is to learn it first myself," Hooten says.

The world's population is increasing, and the amount of usable farmland is decreasing. I believe that a degree in agriculture will allow me to do my part in helping to feed the world.

Luke Heupel of Kalispell, Montana, another scholarship recipient, believes that agriculture improves the planet and its people.

"The world's population is increasing, and the amount of usable farmland is decreasing," says Heupel, a sophomore at Montana State University. "I believe that a degree in agriculture will allow me to do my part in helping to feed the world."

As part of the scholarship, students can designate a $500 donation to an agricultural charity or civic group. Heupel selected Field of Hope, a Christian nonprofit that provides agricultural training programs in developing countries. Hooten’s donation is earmarked for her university's arboretum.

Regan Draeger, another scholarship recipient and a senior at Ohio State University, selected her local 4-H chapter for the donation.

"These 4-H members are invested in their community, and this donation will allow them to continue serving their community to the best of their ability,” Draeger says. She knows because she joined the chapter when she was 11 years old.

The three other scholarship winners and their designated charities are:

• Taylor Baggett from Jay, Florida, a sophomore at the University of Florida, designated Farm Aid.
• Deziree Lee from Coffeyville, Kansas, a freshman at Kansas State University, designated Montgomery County 4-H Fair.
• Ashlyn Persyn from Hondo, Texas, a freshman at Texas A&M University, designated Medina Valley FFA Boosters.

Syngenta awarded the $2,500 scholarships in partnership with the National FFA Organization (FFA).