The Governments of Canada and Saskatchewan have invested in students across the province who are pursuing post-secondary education in agriculture.
On Tuesday, federal Agriculture and Agri-Food Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau and Saskatchewan Agriculture Minister David Marit awarded multiple scholarships, which included one for a high school student in Melfort.
Grade 12 Melfort & Unit Comprehensive Collegiate (MUCC) student Caitlyn Spratt was awarded $4,000 as the grand prize recipient towards her post-secondary studies.
“I was not expecting it and was just mostly in shock the whole time they were telling me on the phone,” she told northeastNOW. “It’s a great honour to win it and it has a huge impact because it allows me to pursue my career in an industry that I love.”
Spratt’s essay discussed Saskatchewan’s sustainability efforts, which included implementing practices like zero till and GPS technology as well as addressing the environmental benefits of cattle grazing on the province’s native rangelands.
She plans to further her education at the University of Saskatchewan at the College of Agriculture and Bioresources, before later applying to veterinary medicine with the hopes of becoming a vet.
“I grew up on a fourth-generation mixed grain and cattle farm, so I’ve been around agriculture my entire life,” Spratt explained. “As I’ve gotten older, I’ve gone through the 4H program and my interest has just kept increasing from there because it’s just part of my life. It’s something that I do every day and I couldn’t imagine my life without it.”
Spratt found out about the scholarship through a friend of her’s that had won it last year.
According to her, part of the application process was to write an essay about farming and the environment, which she took a step further.
“How sustainable agriculture can look very many different ways for different people, especially in different parts of the world,” Spratt added.
“I mostly stuck in Saskatchewan and just showed how we can use our natural and non-renewable resources to the best of our ability, while also explaining how today’s farming practices have improved and are better at maintaining the environment, through things like zero-till farming, some GPS technologies, and cattle grazing as well.”
Other scholarship winners included Danielle Dyok from Saskatoon, Katherine Andree from Val Marie and Emery Cholin from Kerrobert, who were all awarded $2,000 as runner-ups.
Dyok and Cholin will both be attending post-secondary at the University of Saskatchewan this fall at the College of Agriculture and Bioresources, while Andree will attend Olds College in the Agricultural Management Program.
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