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Phone: (307) 766-2929
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Y Cross Ranch Funding Provides Significant Support to UW Students

woman standing in a snowy field
UW student Alexis Julian, of Kemmerer, shown here working on a sagebrush project, is one of the beneficiaries of the Y Cross Ranch Endowment. (UW Photo)

The Y Cross Ranch Endowment provided significant support to University of Wyoming Y Cross Scholars, helping to ensure the future of agriculture and ranching in Wyoming.

“Our college is very grateful for the support from the Y Cross fund and the importance of this funding for educating our next generation of agriculture professionals,” says Barbara Rasco, dean of UW’s College of Agriculture and Natural Resources.

The Y Cross fund provided $233,500 for 38 UW undergraduate and graduate students during the past fiscal year. These students come from 17 states and three countries.

“This scholarship allows me to continue pursuing my dream of making a difference in the agriculture industry, particularly through plant genetics,” says McKenna Carnahan, a junior Y Cross Scholar in molecular biology from Big Piney. “Without this scholarship, I would have a challenging time accomplishing my degree, as the cost of paying for college is 100 percent up to me, and the challenging course load that I try to take each semester makes it exceptionally hard to have a job and still achieve all that I do with mastery.”

The Y Cross Ranch Endowment supports undergraduate scholarships to attract the best and brightest to disciplines within the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources; internships in animal science, meat science, and farm and ranch management; and stipends for graduate students conducting applied research on real-world issues of ranching, farming and natural resource management.

Specifically, the fund supports hands-on, experience-based learning opportunities outside the classroom. These may include practical internships in livestock management, beef production, meat science, and laboratory and field research on issues important to Wyoming agriculture.

Current graduate student research includes collaborative adaptive grazing management; the link between chronic wasting and livestock mineral licks; irrigation management; grazing and soil health; invasive grasses; herbicides; fire to control greasewood; livestock on public lands; cattle and sheep microbiomes; ancient grains; and trace minerals for sheep.

Since it was established in 2016, the Y Cross Ranch Endowment has had a remarkable impact on the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources. In addition to providing scholarships to undergraduate and graduate students, it has funded internships at the National Western Stock Show; supported hands-on activities such as the college meat judging team; provided a solid foundation for a new undergraduate internship initiative; established the Cowboy Branded Meats Program; and helped restart the meat judging program.

“The educational and research programs of these students help to advance Wyoming agriculture, a key initiative within the college,” Rasco says. “We are thrilled to have this opportunity to benefit the agriculture community.”

man standing on a ladder working with equipment on a tall tripod
Ph.D. student Joseph Cook, of La Brigue, France, shown here working on a hydrology project, is one of UW’s Y Cross Scholars. (UW Photo)

Y Cross undergraduate and graduate scholarship and stipend recipients for the 2020-21 academic year are as follows:

Accra, Ghana -- Mohammed Munkaila.

Arvada, Colo. -- Clara Ritchie.

Bay Village, Ohio -- Claire Visconti.

Big Piney -- McKenna Carnahan.

Big Timber, Mont. -- Dylan Laverell.

Blacksburg, Va. -- Olivia Bowers.

Buffalo -- Jordan Skovagard.

Buffalo Gap, S.D. -- Baxter Boldon.

Cheyenne -- Garrett Hartigan and Kayla Kersh.

Cleveland, Tenn. -- Lauren McKinney.

Fort Collins, Colo. -- Dixie Crowe and Charles Hicks.

Gaithersburg, Md. -- Nathan Wade.

Galeton, Colo. -- Hallie Carroll.

Gillette -- Nicholas Andrews.

Hanna -- Marguerite Johnson.

Jackson -- Clara Delahaye.

Kemmerer -- Alexis Julian.

La Brigue, France -- Joseph Cook.

Loganville, Wis. -- Ryan Knuth.

Meeker, Colo. -- Madi Shults.

Mitchell, Neb. -- Tevyn Baldwin and Joseph Pieper.

Mounds View, Minn. -- Ela Piskorski.

Norwalk, Ohio -- Lindsay Rinner.

Nyssa, Ore. -- Ryan Benjamin.

Reno, Nev. -- Erin Schwalbe.

Ronan, Mont. -- Laurel Rigby.

Salem, Ala. -- Grace Gullatt.

Sidney, Neb. -- Brodie Sutton.

Suquamish, Wash. -- Aron Markow.

Swannanoa, N.C. -- Bevin McCormick.

Syangja, Nepal -- Raksha Thapa.

Ventura, Calif. -- Kelly Woodruff.

Wellington, Colo. -- Tatum Runner.

Windsor, Colo. -- Gwendolynn Humme.

Woodbury, Minn. -- Joseph Duncan.

 

 

Contact Us

Institutional Communications
Bureau of Mines Building, Room 137
Laramie, WY 82071
Phone: (307) 766-2929
Email: cbaldwin@uwyo.edu


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