Aggie students gain from Farm Bureau scholarships

April 17, 2020

CURTIS, Neb. – Two Lincoln students are wrapping up their spring semester of college, thanks, in part, to support from ag producers in Lancaster County.

Emmaly Wright is finishing an equine industry management major at the Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture in Curtis, while Chris Reynolds is a veterinary technology student at NCTA.

Wright, a 2016 graduate of Lincoln East High School, has a summer internship working at an equine facility to complete before finishing her NCTA career in August.

Reynolds, a Lincoln Southwest High graduate, is back home in Lincoln during the coronavirus pandemic, taking VT courses remotely. He plans to return to Curtis for summer session in mid-June.

Members of Lancaster County Farm Bureau encourage students to pursue careers in agriculture, animal health and related industries, said Burdette Peining, whose family farms near Lincoln.

Piening is chair of the county scholarship committee which lends a helping hand to ag students at NCTA, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and three community colleges.

“We believe in agriculture, education and the young people entering Nebraska’s workforce,” Piening says.

Wright and Reynolds learned of their $1,000 scholarships through NCTA’s financial aid office. Support from Lancaster County Farm Bureau is provided through the University of Nebraska Foundation.

Scholarship recipients are not required to be Farm Bureau members, Piening said, but they do need to have graduated from a high school in Lancaster County.

Wright’s career goal is to work at a horse training or boarding facility. She showed horses through Lancaster County 4-H, worked at an area stable during high school, and then took her horse, Lucky, along to Curtis.

Classes in nutrition and feeding, reproduction, disease prevention and treatment, training and riding horses, and facilities management have Wright well prepared for her career.

Reynolds said he’s always been interested in taking care of animals and seeks a job in a veterinary clinic or zoo. Currently, his courses include parasitology, radiology, nursing, and exotics.

 For details on NCTA scholarships and financial aid, see https://go.unl.edu/25e2.