WSU College of Ag & Home Ec Honors Students

PULLMAN, Wash. — Outstanding students in the College of Agriculture and Home Economics at Washington State University were honored Saturday (April 15) at the 41st annual college awards banquet.

Bess Brittell, a senior from Montesano, was honored as 2000 Aggie of the Year. The award recognizes the college’s outstanding senior overall majoring in agriculture or natural resource sciences.

Brittell’s grades have placed the honors student on the President’s Honor Roll for seven consecutive semesters.

Outside the classroom, the wildlife sciences major has been active in the WSU Wildlife Society, has represented the society in the Agriculture and Home Economics Student Senate, been active in the WSU chapter of the Audubon Society and the WSU Raptor Rehabilitation Club.

In addition, she has served as teen program director and special projects coordinator for the WSU YMCA. Through the YMCA she helped organize an annual Healthy Family Day at Pullman’s Lincoln Middle School and started the Teens in Service program to involve local teenagers in community service projects.

The fourth generation Cougar is the daughter of Diane and Dave Brittell, 1116 Lake Dr., Montesano.

Amanda Perkins, a senior from Reno, Nev., was named the 2000 Consumer Scientist of the Year. The award recognizes the overall top senior majoring in consumer sciences.

The award was just the latest for Perkins, who is enrolled in the Coordinated Undergraduate Program in General Dietetics of the food science and human nutrition department. A year ago, the 1997 transfer student from the University of Nevada, Reno, was honored as outstanding junior in consumer sciences.

She has been named to the President’s Honor Roll every semester at WSU and was invited to join the Golden Key Honor Society in 1998.

Perkins has held several leadership roles in the local chapter of the society and has served as vice president of the Student Nutrition Awareness Club. She also has volunteered at the Community Action Center in Pullman, delivered Meals on Wheels and prepared Easter Baskets for children in safe houses.

Perkins is the daughter of Kurt and Margot Gottschalk, 1617 Havencrest Dr., Reno, Nev.

Katie Nyseth, a junior from Cheshire, Ore., received the Capital Press Outstanding Junior in Agriculture award.

The honors student is co-captain and starting point guard of WSU’s varsity women’s basketball team. Her grades have placed the biological systems engineering major on both the Honors College and President’s Honor Roll as well as on the Pac-10 All-Academic Second Team.

Outside the classroom, she has volunteered at Jefferson Elementary school as a reading tutor, instructed at Little Hoopsters’ basketball clinics, been a Coug’s with a Heart volunteer, served as a Peer Academic Counselor and a sixth grade fun night volunteer at Lincoln Middle School.

She is the daughter of Steve and Lorrie Nyseth, 23882 Hall Rd., Cheshire, Ore.

Megan Beyerlin, a junior from Centerville, received the Capital Press Outstanding Junior in Consumer and Family Sciences.

Beyerlin, an honors student in the general dietetics program of the food science and human nutrition department, is a student member of the American Dietetics Association, the Alpha Phi Omega service fraternity and the Student Nutrition Awareness Club. She also has helped recruit students for the university as a student Ambassador for the College of Agriculture and Home Economics.

She is the daughter of Bert and Nancy Beyerlin, 445 Olson Rd., Centerville.

Nyseth and Beyerlin received $500 cash awards from the Capital Press regional agricultural weekly newspaper of Salem, Ore.

Andrew M. Cockle, a sophomore from Everson, received the Alpha Zeta Knopf Outstanding Freshman award. The award is made for achievements during the previous academic year.

The agricultural education major, who was 1997-98 Washington State FFA president, has made the Dean’s Honor Roll both of his first two semesters. He is a member of the student Agricultural Education club and serves as the club’s representative on the Agriculture and Home Economics Student Senate.

He volunteers at Pullman’s Teen Center and hosts a radio show on KZZU radio, a student-run radio station.

Cockle is the son of Fred and Karen Cockle, 522 Chatham Place, Everson.

At the same banquet, the names of 64 students were added to the Dean’s Honor Roll, scholarships worth $546,465 were awarded to 288 students and college faculty and staff were honored for their achievements.

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