Castle Scholarships to two Aggies

By NCTA News

Two Aggies are heading into the final semester of their academic careers at the Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture with scholarships from a Colorado family.

Hallee McKenna of Selden, Kansas and Tyler Peterson of Gothenburg, Nebraska were named in June 2020 as recipients of Chandie Castle Memorial Scholarships.

The two Aggies finish their fall semester this week as NCTA students take a one-month holiday break.  They will resume classes on January 11.

Hallee McKenna is majoring in livestock industry management.  Tyler Peterson is studying agricultural equipment management.

The Randy Castle family of Olathe, Colorado, annually awards scholarships as two freshmen students complete their first year of studies at the agriculture college in Curtis.

The scholarships honor Chandie Castle who had been an NCTA Aggie student when she died in a motor vehicle accident near Curtis in January 2008.

Hallee McKenna, from a Kansas farming family, has three sisters and was active in high school FFA. She showed livestock at the county fair and enjoys working with cattle and horses. At NCTA, she is a member of Collegiate Cattlemen, Collegiate FFA & 4-H, and Women in Agriculture.

Tyler Peterson farms with his family who reside north of Gothenburg. Their six-generation farm includes beef cattle and crops. He was active in FFA and last month received his American FFA Degree. Tyler had an irrigation technician internship last summer and works at the family’s farm where he plans to return upon graduating in May.

While at NCTA, Chandie Castle had completed her credits for an associate degree in agribusiness and was set to earn a second degree in production agriculture and to graduate in May 2008.

Her legacy is evident as her younger sister later attended NCTA and earned her associate degree and went on to UNL for a bachelor’s. The Castle family supports NCTA students with the annual scholarships and usually makes the presentations personally at the recognition night the evening prior to commencement.  However, due to the pandemic in 2020, the awards and graduation ceremonies were done virtually in early June.

Chandie also is remembered through a memorial tree planted near Agriculture Hall, and at the student activity building where the campus deli is named Chandie’s Castle.

Castle scholarship recipients are selected based on their goals for careers in agriculture, financial need, work ethic and campus involvement.

Information on NCTA programs and financial aid is available at 1-800-3CURTIS or at ncta.unl.edu.