The Illinois Pork Producers Association recently awarded nine students a total of $13,500 in scholarships.

IPPA scholarships are presented to students pursuing a higher education degree at two- or four-year institutions. Recipients must have a background in the pork industry and are selected based on activity involvement, GPA and an essay detailing how the student plans to contribute to the pork industry in the future.

IPPA narrowed the recipients down to nine out of 40 applicants.

Photo credit: Avosb/iStock/Thinkstock

“These scholarships are a great way to reward those students who have an active interest in the pork industry,” says David Dedert, chairman of the IPPA Youth Committee. “These students are the future of our industry, and IPPA is happy to help them in achieving their dreams by contributing to their college education.”

Three levels of scholarships were available: gold, silver and bronze.

Funding for these scholarships is made possible through the Wilbert and Carol Keppy Foundation.

Gold-level recipients receiving $2,000 are:

• Kacie Haag, Emington, Lake Land College
• Hannah Wollbrink, Warsaw, Western Illinois University
• Shelby Carey, Beardstown, Illinois College

Silver-level recipients receiving $1,500 are:

• Eileen Urish, Kilbourne, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
• Evan Curry, Alpha, Iowa State University
• Christopher Walk, Neoga, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Bronze-level recipients receiving $1,000 are:

• James Dobbels, Cambridge, Black Hawk College
• Marti Maul, Cissna Park, Parkland College Pathways to University of Illinois
• Jordynn Marcum, Gibson City, University of Missouri

Source: IPPA

SCHOLARS: Nine students receiving IPPA scholarships include (from top left) Kacie Haag, Hannah Wollbrink, Shelby Carey, Eileen Urish, Evan Curry, Christopher Walk, James Dobbels, Marti Maul and Jordynn Marcum.