During Washington State University’s April 16 CougsGive fundraising drive, donors can grow two funds that help scholars in the College of Agricultural, Human, and Natural Resource Sciences (CAHNRS) overcome financial hurdles and seize career-building opportunities.
The CAHNRS Community Scholarship, established in 2023 by Wendy Powers, the inaugural Cashup Davis Family Endowed Dean, and the CAHNRS Excellence Fund, created in 1996 through a gift from WSU alumnus Roy Hansberry, help the college create confident, adaptable graduates. The two funds are priority efforts for CougsGive in 2025.
Overcoming unexpected hurdles
The CAHNRS Community Scholarship helps students bridge over crises and stay on track to complete their degrees. Fully funded in fall 2024, the fund has awarded $7,500 to eight scholars since its inception.
“The Community Scholarship has helped relieve the financial stress of paying for my education,” said recipient Mikayla, a WSU sophomore and agricultural education student. “I am pursuing my degree so I can give students the opportunities that I loved in my high school agriculture program.”
Potential awardees are often identified through the close relationship between program advisors and students. Past recipients have applied for assistance with the burden of paying for school at times when they or their family faced health crises, struggled to balance multiple jobs, or were hit with an unexpected financial setback; one scholar had to act quickly when her car was stolen during her student teaching placement.
For Mikayla, a transfer student who navigated unexpected challenges to her graduation timeline, the scholarship was a deeply appreciated support in keeping studies on track.
“My educational journey has been different,” she said. “There have been times when I’ve been overwhelmed by the stress of my financial future and lost steam in pursuing my goals. I came back to school after a break with the motivation to achieve my degree, and I never looked back.”
A longtime FFA and 4-H member and current Whitman County Extension 4-H intern, Mikayla has wanted to be an agriculture teacher since high school.
“My favorite thing about ag education is the responsibility and camaraderie that the agricultural community has and continues to foster in new arrivals,” she said. “Everyone is a consumer of farm products. My goal as a teacher is to help people learn where their food comes from and encourage my students to grow in leadership, responsibility, and employable skills.”
Mikayla aspires to one day teach at a school and community where she can make a big impact as an agricultural educator.
“I hope to make connections with the community and students while teaching them the importance of agriculture and skilled trades,” she said. Thanks to her experiences, Mikayla believes she can offer added insight into college financial planning, grants, and program support and scholarships, including the ones that have helped her.
“Without programs like the CAHNRS Community Scholarship or the Excellence Fund, educations like mine might be put on hold,” she said. “My advice to future and current students is to reach out when you feel that you are drowning. My advisor and the CAHNRS faculty helped me find my way again, and for that, I cannot be more grateful.”
Excellence in seizing new opportunities
In a world where opportunities come and go quickly, the Excellence Fund allows CAHNRS to swiftly meet needs and enable experiences that advance the college mission to build a more Resilient Washington.
“The Dean’s Fund is a resource to make a critical repair to equipment where no other resources are available,” Powers said. “Excellence funds may be used to launch a new program to support stakeholders.”
On occasion, the fund supports student travel, classroom equipment, or a unique student experience that offers students valuable preparation for future careers. For instance, the fund helped send nearly a dozen undergraduates to the annual Agriculture Future of America Leaders Conference, where students built professional and networking skills. Professional development for future CAHNRS leaders may also be aided through the fund.
Support for the Community Scholarship and Excellence Fund is especially critical during times of financial uncertainty facing WSU and higher education. Leaders in CAHNRS plan to match donor gifts during CougsGive to help enhance the scholarship fund.
“We are in some challenging times, but we remain fully committed to our partners and people,” Powers said. “During CougsGive, please help us make key investments that will shape an exciting future for CAHNRS faculty, staff, students, and partners.”
• Contribute to a better Washington and a more innovative, healthy, and secure world during the one-day CougsGive fundraising event on Wednesday, April 16. To support the CAHNRS Community Scholarship or the CAHNRS Excellence Fund, visit the Dean’s Priorities page at the CAHNRS CougsGive website.