Six OSU students will be spending their spring break in Florida, courtesy of the United States Department of Agriculture, where they will be visiting the most magical place on earth. Their paid trip to Disney World is just one of the many benefits their scholarship awards them.
In addition to a trip to Disney World, the USDA Multicultural Scholars Program grants students four full years of paid tuition and a paid summer internship.
The conditions of their scholarship sound simple enough: get good grades and double major in the bioresource research program at OSU, a program that offers students the chance to get hands-on experience in research.
“At the time that I applied for the scholarship my father had been laid off and my mother wasn’t working. I was the only employed member of my family then,” said Ashley Seeley, a junior majoring in animal sciences and bioresource research.
“I wasn’t going to be able to afford my fourth year at school. My education was important to me, finishing college was a priority and I was devastated when I thought I couldn’t do that. What the scholarship actually did was enable me to finish my education and finish my minor [Spanish],” Seeley said.
MANRRS, or Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources and Related Sciences, acts as a USDA-supported organization that offers each scholar the chance to gain knowledge about leadership and peer mentoring as well as professional development skills.
“MANRRS pays for us to go to their national conference. We are leaving for most of spring break and get to attend the conference as well as stay in the Disney resort. Basically, it’s a business conference that focuses on team building, leadership skills and professional development,” said sophomore Dominique Sabedra, secretary for MANRRS and a bioresource research major.
OSU’s six scholars are Ashley Seeley, Danielle Naylor, Emily Escobedo, Martine Torres, Omar Miranda-Garcia and Tiffany Harper.
“I’ve gotten really close to all the scholars and look forward to spending my spring break in Florida with them,” said Torres, a junior in bioresource research with an option in water resources and toxicology.
“This scholarship has really made my life easier,” Torres said. “As a first generation student, I’m paying for college by myself, so it’s nice to be able to focus more on school, and not school and a part-time job.”
The program requires the students to pick up bioresource research as a major as well as keeping up with grades and checking in with program mentors.
“Wanda, my adviser, is really great. She is there to motivate me whenever I need, it and I’m not sure what I would have done if she wasn’t here,” Torres said.
The six scholars have a lot on their plate but still manage to keep jobs and their grades in good shape. Both Torres and Seeley work, either during weekends or breaks.
“I still work during breaks because I’m supporting myself,” Torres said, “but the scholarship has definitely reduced my stress level.”
The six scholars will spend their break in Florida, attending the MANRRS national conference as well as getting to spend some time in Disney World. They will be leaving Tuesday of spring break and will return the Sunday before spring term begins.
“It’s a lot of hard work, but there are a lot of great benefits to this scholarship,” Seeley said. “I’m very lucky.”
Caitlin Cagle, staff writer