Alliance Awards College Aggies Online Scholarships
North Dakota State University Students Win1st Place in Advocacy Competition
April 1, 2013 – The Animal Agriculture Alliance is excited to announce the results of its fourth annual College Aggies Online (CAO) scholarship competition. The nationwide program was developed to help college students utilize social media to share agriculture’s story.
CAOis an online competition open to all college students with an interest in agriculture. Since its launch in 2009, more than 980 college students from more than 100 different colleges and universities have registered to participate in the program.
CAO participants earn points by writing weekly blogs, sharing photos and videos related to agriculture, and hosting events on their campuses. This season, CAO participants were challenged to engage the public utilizing Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and LinkedIn. Additionally, several participants’ work was published in newspapers including: the Bozeman Daily Chronicle, the Great Falls Tribune, the Montana Standard, Beef Magazine, Cattle Call, and numerous college and local papers.
Additionally, several club teams directed and produced video parodies promoting agriculture. The Alliance collaborated with video “agvocate” Greg Peterson, of the famed Peterson Farm Brothers parodies; to host a webinar to inspire the participants provide them with tips and tricks on video production.
Members of the North Dakota State University PAS/CCFA in North Dakota formed the topscoring club with 6,633 total points. The club will receive a $5,000 scholarship and one representative will be invited to receive a complimentary trip to Washington, D.C. to attend the Alliance’s 12th annual Stakeholders Summit in Arlington, Virginia on May 1-2, 2013.
Purdue University’s Collegiate Beef Cattle Association came in second place with 3,185 points and will receive $2,500. They were closely followed by the Montana State University’s Collegiate Montana Stockgrowers Club and Louisiana State University Les Voyageurs club.
With 4,431points, the individual high score went to Tiffany Swanson of North Dakota State University. She will receive a $2,500 scholarship. Zachary Frazier of Perdue University came in second place with 2,815 points and will be awarded $1,000. Karoline Rose, of Montana State University took third place, and will receive a scholarship in the amount of $500.00.
“Every day, thousands of conversations about food production take place online using social media. Agriculture needs to be a part of this dialogue – and that’s why College Aggies Online is so important,” said Alliance President and CEO Kay Johnson Smith. “We are so proud of all of our student participantsfor both expanding their knowledge of agriculture issues and sharing their personal stories using social media platforms.”
Students are encouraged to continue utilizing the CAO forum and the CAO Facebook page to connect and learn after the conclusion of the competition. The Alliance wishes to thank the 2013 College Aggies Program sponsors who include the U.S. Farmers and Ranchers Alliance, the National Pork Board, the National Pork Producers Council, DRIVE Magazine, and the program’s newest sponsor, Lallemand Animal Nutrition.
Please join the Alliance and the 2013 program sponsors in congratulating this year’s winners by using social media! Here are some sample social media posts that you can use to spread the word. You can also repost content directly from our page.
Twitter:
– Congrats to @AggiesOnline winners @tiffalici0us, @zach_frazier399 and
@rosecattleco! Keep telling agriculture’s story using social media!
– Congrats to all the @AggiesOnline participants on completing the 2013 competition and
to the club and individual winners! #ag #agchat
– Thanks to the @AggiesOnline program for helping the next generation of #farmers and
#ranchers become better advocates for agriculture.
Facebook/LinkedIn:
– Congrats to this year’s College Aggies Online Scholarship winners! Become a fan of the
College Aggies page and share your congratulations:
– https://www.facebook.com/CollegeAggiesOnline
– Learn more about the College Aggies Scholarship program and congratulate this year’s
winners: https://www.facebook.com/CollegeAggiesOnline.
For more information about the contest, or to become a sponsor of next year’s competition, contact Emily Meredith.
About the Alliance:
The Animal Agriculture Alliance is an industry-united, nonprofit organization that helps bridge the communication gap between farm and fork. We connect key food industry stakeholders to arm them with responses to emerging issues. We engage food chain influencers and promote consumer choice by helping them better understand modern animal agriculture. We protect by exposing those who threaten our nation’s food security with damaging misinformation. Find the Alliance on Facebook and Twitter.
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