The College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences at UW-River Falls presented two awards to outstanding seniors at their 35^th annual Senior Supper April 25. The Dr. Earl Hildebrand Memorial Award for the Outstanding Senior in CAFES was presented to Rebecca Storlie (left) and theRochelle Junkman Seymour Award for the graduating senior with the highest GPA went to Anna Krueger (right).

Storlie and Krueger named CAFES outstanding seniors

May 3, 2018 – The College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences (CAFES) at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls presented two awards to outstanding seniors at their 35^th annual Senior Supper on April 25. The event is sponsored by the CAFES Alumni Association to recognize the accomplishments of the graduating seniors and to welcome them into the ranks of alumni.

The Rochelle Junkman Seymour Award for the graduating senior with the highest GPA was presented to Anna Krueger. Krueger, of Stillwater, Minn., is an agricultural education major with minors in animal science, dairy science and Spanish. She has been active in several student organizations including Block and Bridle, Falcon 4-H, Alpha Tau Alpha and has held several officer positions with the Newman Club. She completed an undergraduate research project investigating the use of dairy production data to provide performance feedback. Krueger is currently student teaching at Forest Lake (Minn.) Area High School.

Krueger’s adviser describes her as “an inquisitive and engaged learner who never hesitated to challenge me as her instructor. Her work was always completed in a timely fashion and with great quality. Truly an outstanding young professional who was a pleasure to work with.”

Krueger has accepted an 11-month volunteer position with the Vincentian Volunteers of Cincinnati, Ohio, beginning in August where she will serve as a food shelf coordinator and will design and build a new garden. She plans to return to Minnesota in July 2019 to look for a job in the agricultural industry.

The Dr. Earl Hildebrand Memorial Award for the Outstanding Senior in CAFES was presented to Rebecca Storlie. This award honors a student who best exemplifies a combination of scholastic achievement, extracurricular involvement and leadership roles within the college. Seniors are nominated for this award by faculty in the college, with the College Scholarship Committee selecting the recipient.

Storlie grew up on a small hobby farm in Northfield, Minn. She has played an active role on campus through her involvement in the Pre-Vet Club, undergraduate research, and employment as a campus information specialist. She has also been an active tutor, holding a leadership role in the Chemistry Department’s Peer Led Team Learning program for which many CAFES students credit her with their success in chemistry. She authored three fully funded undergraduate research grants and brought together teams of students to successfully complete the projects. Storlie and her research collaborator, Montana Lins from Avoca, took 1^st Place Overall and the People’s Choice Award at the first WiSys Quick Pitch competition held at UW-River Falls. They pitched a novel cervical artificial insemination method for small ruminants.

Storlie is graduating with an animal science degree with meat animal and companion animal emphases, along with a chemistry minor. She will be attending the University of Minnesota in the fall to continue her education in their Doctor of Veterinary Medicine program.

In her letter of nomination, faculty wrote “Rebecca’s accomplishments and contributions to others over the past four years have been phenomenal. She has taken advantage of every possible opportunity to help people around her succeed.”

They went on to write that “Rebecca is among the top one percent of students to come through the Department of Animal and Food Science during the past ten years. She is highly respected by her peers, and the entire Department of Animal and Food Science faculty for her extremely positive, outgoing, and caring personality. To put it simply, Rebecca is a friend to everyone.”

Whitney Thome, ’11, president of the CAFES Alumni Association, served as emcee for the evening. The program traditionally features speakers from industry, the graduating class, and the faculty. This year’s speakers were Liz Kaufenberg, ’09, a Superfund project manager with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency; David Trechter, professor of agricultural economics; and coincidentally, Storlie represented the graduating seniors.

For more information, email laura.walsh@uwrf.edu or call 715-425-3535.