Jasmine Tregre, a junior from Laplace majoring in nutritional sciences and pre-med, receives one of the academic scholar awards from Ken Koonce, dean of the LSU College of Agriculture during the honors and awards ceremony at the Lod Cook Convention Center on Sept. 18. Tregre said this needs-based scholarship couldn’t have come at a better time as her parents are rebuilding from damage they sustained from Hurricane Isaac last year. Photo by Johnny Morgan)

BATON ROUGE, La. – Professors, graduate and undergraduate students were recognized at the LSU College of Agriculture honors and awards ceremony at the Lod Cook Alumni Center on Sept. 18.

This year the college awarded more than $100,000 to 83 students for their significant academic achievements and other activities, according to Ken Koonce, dean of the college.

“We are glad that we can help the students in this way,” Koonce said. “And we are especially grateful to sponsors who provide the endowment of the scholarships that we are presenting today.”

Koonce reminded the parents that their children do not have to wait until their freshmen year before preparing for the scholarship. He said incoming freshmen are evaluated on their academic achievements and other activities while they were in high school.

Also present to give welcoming remarks was LSU Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost Stuart Bell, who praised the students for their community service and the parents for their support.

The application process to receive a scholarship is not very difficult at all, said Mary Claire Gilder, coordinator of recruitment for the college.

“When students apply for admission to the university, their admissions application serves as their application for student aid,” Gilder said.

There is then a request made to the financial aid office for a list of the students who are applying to the college, Gilder said. At that point, the students are contacted and asked to write an essay, which is used to determine which scholarship category the student is eligible to receive.

These scholarships can be needs-based or merit-based and can range from $500 up to several thousand dollars, Koonce said. “It really depends on what the endowment guidelines are.”

Jasmine Tregre, a junior from LaPlace majoring in nutritional sciences and p

Les Voyageurs, the official ambassadors for recruitment and retention in the LSU College of Agriculture, were recognized as part of the honors and awards ceremony held at the Lod Cook Convention Center on Sept. 18. Front Row (L-R): Kasie Dugas, Michelle Bourgeois, Brittany Doise, Morgan Richard, Emily Sloane and Stacey Vignes. Back Row (L-R): Adam Barrilleaux, Rachel Brown, Ben Kraemer, Avery Kravet, Matt Landry, Philip Stelly, Jen Tuhoy and Anna Claire Ferchaud. (Photo by Johnny Morgan)

“My folks lost like everything in Hurricane Isaac last year,” Tregre said. “So it has really helped me take some of the burden off of them as they rebuild.”

Tregre, who also is president of the Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources and Related Sciences group, shows that being involved even outside of the classroom has its advantages during the college years.

Those receiving this year’s teaching awards included Michael D. Kaller, assistant professor in the School of Renewable and Natural Resources, who received the Tiger Athletic Foundation Teaching Award; Michael J. Stout, entomology professor received the Tiger Athletic Foundation Teaching Award; Kayanush Aryana, animal science professor received the Sedberry Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching; Christopher Carlton, entomology professor received the Sedberry Award for Excellence in Graduate Teaching; William E. Kelso, associate director of the School of Renewable and Natural Resources received the College of Agriculture Alumni Association Excellence in Teaching award; Judy Myhand, food science instructor received the NACTA Teaching Award of Merit; and Bianca Teats, Coordinator of Diversity and Retention in the college was awarded the graduate student teaching award.

The distinguished dissertation award was presented to E Hu, a post-doctoral researcher in aquaculture and fisheries.

Bill Richardson, LSU vice president for agriculture, told the parents and others attending that this is a special time to not only be a student in the college but also for parents and industry people.

“For the first time in nearly 45 years, all of the parts of the land-grant system are under one administration,” Richardson said.

He said enrollments are down slightly this year, but he pledged to roll up his sleeves and make some things happen beginning on Oct. 8, which will be the first day of his new duties as the leader of the college in addition to maintaining leadership of the LSU AgCenter.