The Ohio Soybean Council Foundation (OSCF) is pleased to announce the scholarship recipients for the 2022-2023 academic year.

In its 15th year of programming, the OSCF is awarding 13 scholarships to undergraduate and graduate students in Ohio. The OSCF Scholarship Program was created to encourage undergraduate students to pursue degrees in one of the many academic fields that support the future of the soybean industry, as well as to support ongoing graduate-level research. Since 2008, the OSCF scholarship program has awarded over $400,000 in scholarship funds to students studying agriculture or a related field at Ohio colleges or universities.

Undergraduate scholarships of $3,000 each were awarded to Rachel Barrett, Alec Bollinger, Kearsten Kirby, Lauren Mellott, Lindsey Okuley, Ryan Patton and Paige Teeters. The annual $5,000 Bhima Vijayendran Scholarship, named in honor of a Battelle research scientist who has made tremendous contributions to the soybean industry, was awarded to Laura Wilker. The Robinson W. Joslin Scholarship was awarded to Bethany Starlin. This annual $3,000 scholarship was created to honor a long-time leader in the soybean industry both in Ohio and nationally, who passed away in May 2016.

Graduate scholarships of $4,000 were awarded to Christian Vargas Garcia, Seth Kannberg, Melanie Medina and Stephen Riley.

“Congratulations to all of the 2022-2023 scholarship winners,” said Bob Suver, Clark County soybean farmer and OSCF scholarship committee member. “This was my first year on the scholarship committee and I was beyond impressed with the students we met. The dedication these students have for agriculture and more specifically the soybean industry is remarkable.”

Undergraduate Winners

Rachel Barrett of Rockford, Ohio, is a sophomore at The Ohio State University studying food science and technology.

Alec Bollinger of Sycamore, Ohio, is a junior at Marietta College studying environmental and petroleum engineering.

Kearsten Kirby of Piqua, Ohio, is a junior at Wilmington College studying agricultural communication.

Lauren Mellott of Butler, Ohio, is a sophomore at The Ohio State University studying agriscience education.

Lindsey Okuley of Wapakoneta, Ohio, is a junior at The Ohio State University studying agricultural communication.

Ryan Patton of Logan, Ohio, is a junior at The Ohio State University studying agriscience education.

 Bethany Starlin of Logan, Ohio, is a junior at The Ohio State University studying agricultural communication.

Paige Teeters of Hillsboro, Ohio, is a sophomore at Wilmington College studying agricultural education.

Laura Wilker of St. Marys, Ohio, is a junior at University of Dayton studying chemical engineering.

Graduate Winners

Christian Vargas Garcia is pursuing his doctorate in horticulture and crop sciences at The Ohio State University. His research area focuses on plant breeding to identify Phytophthora Root Rot resistant genes in soybean plants.

 Seth Kannberg is pursuing a master’s in crop science at The Ohio State University. His research analyzes the effect of planting dates on seedling survivability and soybean yields.

Melanie Medina is pursuing her doctorate in plant pathology at The Ohio State University. Her research looks at the association between communities of fungi in soils and their potential to suppress the effects of soybean cyst nematode in soybean fields.

 Stephen Riley is pursuing his doctorate in polymer engineering at the University of Akron. His research concerns the mechanical and electrical effects of charred soybean hulls and their use as an alternative for carbon black in industrial products.

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 About OSCF

Established by the Ohio Soybean Council in 2007, the Ohio Soybean Council Foundation is a 501c(3) non-profit organization dedicated to the improvement of the soybean industry through the support of scientific research and education. www.soyohio.org/scholarship

About OSC

Headquartered in Worthington, the Ohio Soybean Council is governed by a volunteer farmer board, which directs the Soybean Promotion and Research Program. The program’s primary goal is to improve soybean profitability by targeting research and development, education and promotion projects through the investment of farmer-contributed funds (checkoff).  www.soyohio.org.