Two K-State seniors named agriculture students of the month

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Sources: Lauren Smith, 913-206-3905, lmsmith@k-state.edu;
and Justine Sterling, justines@k-state.edu
News release prepared by: Levi Wolters, 785-532-6415, media@k-state.edu

Wednesday, November 22, 2006

TWO K-STATE SENIORS NAMED AGRICULTURE STUDENTS OF THE MONTH

MANHATTAN -- Two Kansas State University students have received the Agriculture Student of the Month award, one for September and the other for October.

The students received the award based on honors they have received, a one-page resume, activities, grade point average and a short essay.

Justine Sterling, senior in agricultural communications and journalism with a minor in agricultural economics, Hardtner, was the student of the month for September.

Lauren Smith, senior in agronomy with a minor in Spanish, Lenexa, was named student of the month for October.

Sterling is the director of membership for the Blue Key Senior Honor Society, a member of the K-State Student Alumni Board and Changing Lives Student Campaign, and is vice president of development for the College of Agriculture Ambassadors. She currently serves as the special projects coordinator for the College of Agriculture's academic programs.

She also has served as the National FFA president, the Kansas FFA president and the Kansas FFA National Convention's convention coordinator. In addition, Sterling has received the State and American FFA Degrees and the Honorary Lifetime FFA Alumni Award.

"If I hadn't come to K-State, enrolled in the College of Agriculture or majored in agricultural communications and journalism, I wouldn't have gone down the FFA path that I chose, and my life would be significantly different today," Sterling said. "That is exactly why the full college experience is so very important."

Sterling is a member of Phi Eta Sigma and Phi Kappa Phi honoraries, and the National Society of Collegiate Scholars. She was a member of Silver Key sophomore and Chimes junior honoraries. She has received semester honors from the College of Agriculture every semester during her college career.

Last summer, Sterling served as an intern for the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Washington, D.C., where, among other duties, she coordinated weekly White House reports and schedules of upcoming press events for the secretary of agriculture.

Sterling is a graduate of South Barber High School, Kiowa.

Smith is a member of several honor societies, including Gamma Sigma Delta, Phi Kappa Phi and Golden Key International. She was the censor, or vice president, of the fraternity of Alpha Zeta and is a member of the College of Agriculture Honors Program. She has received semester honors from the College of Agriculture each semester during her college career.

Smith has participated in one regional and two national contests as a member of the K-State Soil Judging Team. She has served as committee chair, membership development chair and vice president of the Wheat State Agronomy Club, and is a member of the Sigma Alpha professional agriculture sorority, Crop Science Society of America and the American Society of Agronomy.

As a member of the American Society of Agronomy, Smith attended several national meetings, which led to an internship at Texas Tech University last summer.

"Because of the meetings, I have been able to interview representatives from graduate schools nationwide to narrow my search and to look at career opportunities with private companies," Smith said. "The most important benefit for me though, has been presenting research."

Since 2003, Smith has worked as an undergraduate research assistant in the Wheat Genetics Resource Center. In summer 2005, she served an internship with the Monsanto Company.

Smith is a graduate of Shawnee Mission West High School, Overland Park.