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Scholarships keep going unclaimed
To the editor:
For the past two years the Hancock County Master Gardeners have offered $1,000 scholarships, but no one has applied. These scholarships are offered to Hancock County residents who are enrolled in an agricultural field of study and are beginning their junior year of study.
The HCMG has been offering these scholarships for at least the past nine years and possibly longer. Our organization is dedicated to “Helping Others Grow,” which is a Purdue MG program objective. We also offer awards each year to Hancock County 4-H winners in flowers and gardens (vegetables).
In the past we had a very limited field of study in which our applicants had to be enrolled to be accepted for this scholarship. In view of the changing landscape of education and technology, farming and agriculture has taken on sweeping changes in the past decade. Consequently, we are wanting to be more available in our choices of field of study for our applicants.
Our current application lists subjects related to horticulture, agricultural education, landscape architecture, landscape design and the fields of study related to horticulture plants — entomology (insects of horticultural significance), botany (horticultural plant breeding) and pathology (diseases of horticultural significance) — as the preferred fields of study. We are willing to consider other related fields of study, provided the applicant can provide a detailed explanation how their education will benefit themselves as well as our local community.
Students wishing to apply for these scholarships, please contact the local Purdue Extension Office to obtain an application at 317-462-1113.
Bob Degitz
HCMG Scholarship Chairman
