Six WT Ag Students Earn $26,000 in Certified Angus Beef

Six West Texas A&M University students earned more than a quarter of the $100,000 awarded nationally through the Colvin Scholarship Fund from Certified Angus Beef.

The scholarship program distributed funds to 24 students across the United States, with WTAMU recipients accounting for $26,000 of the total.

Since its inception in 2002, the Colvin Scholarship Fund has provided $833,500 to 227 students pursuing careers in agriculture and the beef industry, according to a Certified Angus Beef news release.

Danielle Matter, CAB director of content strategy, said the recipients represent innovation, leadership, and dedication that will shape the future of the beef industry.

Scholarship winners were named in three categories: Production Agriculture, Undergraduate, and Graduate.

Will Hauerland, a graduate student in animal science from Sealy, received $3,500 in the Production Agriculture category.

Kade Lawrence, a senior animal science major from Canyon, was awarded $7,500 in the Undergraduate category.

In the Graduate category, Ryan Heitschmidt from Nazareth received $6,000; Shelton Luedke from Hondo received $4,000; Bailey Lamb from Huntsville received $3,000; and Brittley Bowers from Fredericksburg received $2,000.

Dr. Loni Lucherk, WT’s Gorden W. Davis Chair in Meat Judging in the Department of Agricultural Sciences in the Paul Engler College of Agriculture and Natural Sciences, noted her own experience as a former Colvin Scholar and praised the program’s impact on students’ education and professional journeys.

Each recipient is pursuing a career in production agriculture, industry research, or another area of agriculture, continuing the legacy of Louis “Mick” Colvin, co-founder and longtime executive director of Certified Angus Beef.

Kade Lawrence and Ryan Heitschmidt will represent West Texas A&M University at the Certified Angus Beef Annual Conference from September 9 to 11.

The university is a Regional Research University in Canyon, Texas, with a 342-acre residential campus and the Harrington Academic Hall WTAMU Amarillo Center in downtown Amarillo.

Established in 1910, West Texas A&M University has been part of The Texas A&M University System since 1990 and serves over 9,000 students through 65 undergraduate and 41 graduate degree programs.

The institution recently earned a Carnegie Foundation classification as a Research College and University and competes in NCAA Division II as a member of the Lone Star Conference.