Student’s passion for agriculture rewarded

Student’s passion for agriculture rewarded

Agricultural student Sarah Ross is bucking a trend – and she’s just won a $2,500 scholarship from Agcarm to help her do it.

The 19-year-old bachelor of agricultural science student at Massey University says that agriculture isn’t the usual occupation touted to city school-leavers, but she sees it as an exciting career path with many options.

Growing up in Pukekohe, near Auckland, most students opted for more conservative careers. “Often in the city it’s about lawyers and doctors,” says Sarah.

Initially she tentatively chose agriculture as her vocation, with her peers “assuming I wanted to be a farmer in Palmerston North for the rest of my life.” Now in her second year at Massey she says, “the beauty of agriculture is the diversity it offers.”

Agriculture appealed to Sarah because, “it matched a lot of what I was into – the subjects, my interests as well as the bigger issues and opportunities within it.” She is interested in sustainability, global warming, feeding a growing planet and the environment - and what impact this will have on agriculture.

Her ultimate goal is to work in less privileged nations, educating growers about how to better manage crops and increase yields. Of special interest to her is cocoa growing in West Africa because, “we have it good over here. I can use the skills I learn at university and share that knowledge. It’s an active form of helping people,” she says.

When she is not studying or working in orchards, Sarah can be found reading, baking, tramping, listening to music and collecting chocolate wrappers.

Sarah intends to spend her winnings on practical investments – a contribution to her course fees and student loan as well as paying off her laptop.

Agcarm chief executive Mark Ross says the association is pleased to help a positive, motivated, and enthusiastic student reach her goals.

“We were impressed with her ideas, academic achievements, and work ethic,” says Ross.

Agcarm has two scholarships to support education and raise awareness about careers in Agcarm-related industries. The winner of the veterinary science scholarship is Ben Mitchell.

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