Go-getters and difference makers, innovators and change curators—today’s students are tomorrow’s leaders. Supporting these creative and intelligent young people, the 2020 Colvin Scholarship Fund awarded $42,000 to 10 who are pursuing degrees in animal and meat sciences across the country.
Honoring the Certified Angus Beef brand co-founder and executive director of 22 years, Louis “Mick” Colvin, the Fund supported 86 recipients to date. Since 1999, the scholarship has carried on Colvin’s legacy of making dreams a reality and inspiring others to do their best.
Recognizing community involvement, commitment to success and progress in the beef industry, the program recently announced 2020 recipients.
Those undergraduate winners in the High Plains Journal readership area are as follows: Conner McKinzie, Stephenville, Texas, of Texas Tech University; Natalie Hawkins, Atwood, Kansas, of Oklahoma State University; Sarah Bludau, Hallettsville, Texas, of Texas A&M University; and Emily Glenn, Scott City, Kansas, of Kansas State University.
Graduate award winners in the HPJ readership area are as follows: Luke Fuerniss, Loveland, Colorado, of Texas Tech University.
Their essays on ambitious goals and plans to impact the beef business were part of the highly competitive selection process. Applicants were asked to outline a proposal to distinguish CAB from the 90 other USDA-certified programs that use “Angus” labels in marketing.
Texas Tech University animal science junior McKinzie proposed a “relatable” approach to differentiate CAB from others: deploy unique packaging to help tell the story of who the brand’s producers are and how their cattle live.
“Never before has there been a generation more in touch with their emotions and socially ‘awakened’ than there is today,” said McKinzie. “People want to know what they’re buying, where they’re buying it from, who raised it and what was it given in its lifetime.”
He explained how “augmented reality” can be a part of product packaging that could engage a wide variety of customers. “This would be the cornerstone for building authentic relationships with customers new and old.”
McKinzie hopes to earn master’s and doctorate degrees in food science to explore solutions to food waste and the insecurity epidemic. Embodying a service mindset, his goal is “to make our world a more efficient and food-secure place to live.”
