Syngenta Announces the Winners of the 2020 Accelerating a Generation Scholarship

Adam D’Angelo, bachelor’s student at Rutgers University, and Rodger Farr, master’s student at the University of Arkansas, are the national winners of the 2020 Syngenta Accelerating a Generation Scholarship. Syngenta has awarded both students $6,000 to help pay college educational expenses.

In addition, six regional winners, including D’Angelo and Farr, have each received a $1,000 scholarship award to support their education.

Judges selected this year’s winners out of a diverse pool of applicants who shared how their agricultural roots have influenced the way they view the future of the industry.

“We received a lot of strong applications this year,” says Pam Caraway, communications lead at Syngenta. “This year’s applicants have a lot to say about where the industry might be going — and how they will help take it there. The future of our agricultural industry is in good hands.”

This year’s applicants have a lot to say about where the industry might be going — and how they will help take it there. The future of our agricultural industry is in good hands.

In his winning video essay, D’Angelo, who’s double-majoring in plant biology and agriculture and food systems, emphasizes the importance of enabling sustainable, profitable production. “The future of agriculture is not simply about growing more food,” he says. “It’s about growing food in a safe and sustainable way while preserving the economic viability of the farmer.”

Farr, who grew up on a corn, soybean and wheat farm in western Nebraska and is studying weed science, struck a similar note. “I see agriculture moving in a direction that is not only more environmentally conscious and efficient, but also more integrated with an intertwined, sustainable system,” he says. “That system will give us the ability to adapt to changing economies and a changing climate.”

The other regional winners are undergraduate students Kristen Dunning (University of Georgia), Madigan Jean Hawkins (University of Idaho) and Leah Mosher (Iowa State University), and graduate student Chelsea Newbold (Oregon State University).