Kansas State University

MANHATTAN -- Kansas State University student Kassie Curran, a senior in food science and industry from Farlington, has advanced to the final round of the 2013 Harry S. Truman Scholarship competition.

Curran will interview March 7 in Kansas City, Mo., with other finalists from Iowa, Kansas and Missouri. Truman scholarship winners will be announced April 11.

The Truman scholarship is a national competition that provides up to $30,000 for graduate study to students committed to future careers in public service. Between 60 and 65 scholarships are awarded every year.

Curran is among 199 candidates from 136 colleges and university who were chosen as finalists this year. According to the Truman Foundation, more than 625 students from 293 colleges and universities applied for the 2013 competition.

A 2009 graduate of Girard High School, Curran is the daughter of Joseph and Kim Curran, Farlington. She has served as president and career fair coordinator for the College of Agriculture Ambassadors, vice president of community outreach for Collegiate Farm Bureau, beef promotions director for Collegiate Cattlewomen and state vice president for the Kansas FFA Association. In addition, Curran is involved in Agriculture Future of America, the Frontier Program and the College of Agriculture scholars program.

Her honors, scholarships and awards include: American Royal Scholar; Institute of Food Technologists Scholarship; National Cattlemen's Foundation Scholarship; Quest freshmen honorary; and Gamma Sigma Delta, the agriculture honorary.

Curran also is a recipient of a U.S. Department of Homeland Security Career Development Grant, which funds her undergraduate research project. She is researching consumer concerns, preferences and opinions of a variety of food safety and technology practices, including genetically modified organisms and cloning. Her research is economically important to the food and agriculture industry. Her research adviser is Sean Fox, professor of agricultural economics.

If awarded the Truman scholarship, Curran would like to pursue a graduate degree in agricultural and resource economics.

Since the establishment of the Truman Foundation in 1977, 33 Kansas State University students have been awarded the Truman scholarship, ranking the university first for the number of Truman scholars in the nation among all public state-support universities. In 1996, the Truman Foundation named Kansas State University a Truman Scholar Honor Institution, one of 17 inaugural schools to receive the title.