CSU Ag Day Raises Funds for Students

Football and food. Is there a better combination? This Saturday, for the 30th consecutive year, Colorado State University hosts Ag Day, featuring a celebration of Colorado’s agricultural industry and the bounty of food it produces. This year’s feast, which will be served from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. on the south side of Sonny Lubick Field Hughes Stadium, will also serve as a kickoff to the home football season for CSU. The Rams will play the University of Northern Colorado Bears at noon.

The game-day spirit befits the purpose of Ag Day: Since its inception, the event has raised money for scholarships granted to deserving students in the College of Agricultural Sciences.

Each year, Ag Day proceeds contribute to between 12 and 15 $2,000 student scholarships. Since 2000, Ag Day has funded more than 125 scholarships totaling more than $225,000 for CSU agricultural students.

This year, 12 students from the College of Agricultural Sciences have been awarded $2,000 scholarships. These scholarship winners come from a variety of disciplines – from animal sciences to landscape architecture, soil and crop sciences to equine sciences.

Sarah Puerner, an Equine Sciences major, is one of this year’s dozen Ag Day Scholarship winners.

“This specific scholarship is helping me achieve my academic goals because I wouldn’t be able to attend CSU without scholarship help. With the help from our community and our university, I am able to attend CSU and will be graduating this May,” said Puerner, who competes for the CSU Horse Judging Team and looks forward to pursuing a professional judging career.

“I am the first member of my family to attend college and this is why I do not take education lightly.”

Jason Owen took a different route to CSU. He began his college education at age 30. Owen originally planned to study civil engineering. Shortly after arriving in Fort Collins, he became fascinated by the Landscape Architecture program, especially the beautiful drawings and models in the department’s design studio.

“As a landscape architecture major who is graduating in eight months, it is very important to spend lots of time on the assigned projects so I can have a very nice and complete portfolio next spring to show potential employers in hopes of getting a job in this tough economy,” said Owen.

“I am very much hoping to begin working for a landscape architecture firm here in Colorado next year so I can start getting real-world experience and also begin paying off my student loans. The scholarship will help with all of this.”

Owen would like to work for a local firm in the area of urban design and city planning upon graduation.

CSU’s Ag Day continues to help to develop the next generations of agriculture leaders. Even if you can’t attend Saturday’s game, you can still support scholarships by giving to the Ag Day Scholarship program at https://advancing.colostate.edu/AGDAY. 

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