Spring 2023 Senior Awards

Michael Albanese is the Agricultural Technology Program Ut Prosim award winner for 2023.  Michael has been an inquisitive and outspoken student leader since arriving on campus in the fall of 2021.  He has been a great representative of the AT Program as a student leader inside and outside the classroom. 

As an outstanding ambassador, he has helped inform perspective students and families through open houses and Facebook live events.  Whenever students are asked to represent the AT Program to the public, Michael always volunteers to help. 

In addition to his willingness to serve, Michael is a leader in the classroom as well. Senior Instructor and AT Assistant Director Tom Martin said of Michael, “Michael is an asset in the classroom as he is willing to propose ideas, ask and answer questions, listen thoughtfully, and develop additional questions.  This makes the classroom environment significantly richer and helps everyone learn.”  

Kaylen Snead has been named the Outstanding Peer Mentor Award winner. Peer mentors at Virginia Tech perform the dual role of advocate and resource agent as they assist first year students as they make the transition to college.

This was AT’s first year having a peer mentor program. Often it can be challenging being one of the first as everyone is learning together. Kaylen was not only willing to learn, but she also quickly became a model example of what peer mentors should do in the First Year Experience Course. Kaylen took time to get to know her mentees and shared her passion for agriculture and Virginia Tech with them. She followed through with issues her mentees were experiencing and was willing to give good advice. Kaylen also was willing to help develop the program and gave ideas to better the experience for everyone.

Instructor Rose Jeter noted, “Kaylen truly was an asset to not only the first-year students, but to the teaching assistant and me as the instructor as well. I am looking forward to seeing the positive impact I know Kaylen will have on the agriculture industry.” 

Each year the Agricultural Technology Program will honor one student who has impressed us with the growth they have made in their intended industry. This year we honor Six Parker.

Instructors have seen Six become more confident both in and out of the classroom from engaging in discussions or jumping in when we are learning in the field. Six has worked hard to gain this confidence staying after class or reaching out when something was not clear. He served as an ambassador for the program and helped with Open Houses. 

Other areas where Six’s professionalism could be seen were when he participated in two industry competitions, the National Collegiate Landscape Competition, and the Sport Field Managers Associations quiz bowl team. Both events required dedication, preparation, and teamwork. Turfgrass Instructor Jonathan Dickerson noted, “Although I was unable to attend, my colleagues said Six took advantage of this opportunity to learn, network, and compete for our program. I am so excited to see where Six takes his passion for landscaping and turfgrass. I am confident he will make wherever he goes a better place.”   

Our Outstanding Applied Agriculture Management Intern from the summer of 2022 is Colton Wilder. This is an award that gives recognition to a graduating student that both stepped out of their ‘comfort zone’ and excelled at their internship. Colton is from Jonesville, VA and traveled over 1,200 miles to complete his internship in Yuma, Colorado at one of Five Rivers Cattle Feeding’s 13 feedyards.

Five Rivers is the world’s largest cattle feeding company with feedyards in six states, where they have a one-time feeding capacity of more than 865,000 head of cattle and market more than 1.8 million head of cattle per year.

Colton earned excellent reviews from his supervisor. He was able to experience all parts of the feedlot, including receiving, feeding, and doctoring the cattle and working in the feed mill. Senor Instructor and AT Assistant Director Rachel Kohl noted, “I am so proud of Colton for taking a chance and excelling at his internship. He gained valuable experience and is sure to benefit from that in his future career.” 

When Todd Brown left for South Carolina for his internship at Long Cove Club in Hilton Head Island, he was taking a risk to go fairly far from home with the benefit of stepping outside of his comfort zone.  The risk paid off and Todd’s internship was a great success; with wonderful learning opportunities at one of South Carolina’s top rated golf courses and excellent remarks from his internship supervisor.  Todd was able to bring that success into the 2022 – 2023 year by greatly improving his academic performance by significantly increasing his engagement in class.  All classroom environments are improved when the students interact, and Todd became an asset in his classes. 

Senior Instructor and AT Assistant Director Tom Martin, “Congratulations to Todd for earning the inaugural Outstanding Ag Tech Landscape Turf Management Intern, through his performance during his internship and the growth he exhibited afterward.” 

The Scholarly Achievement Award is presented to the student who earned the highest GPA in the 2023 Virginia Tech Agricultural Technology class. Nathan Aitcheson always went above-and-beyond throughout the duration of his time over the past two years within our program.  In addition to his 3.84 GPA, Nathan was active in clubs on campus, served as a peer mentor, and worked at the barns.

Instructor Dr. Morgan Holder noted, “This student is truly a joy to be around. If I have the opportunity to raise a son or daughter, I hope that they have the same character, attention to detail, work ethic, and demeanor as this this student.” 

Rachel Mohler and Tessa Wannenburgh are the 2022-2023 recipients of the John Lee Pratt Agricultural Technology Animal Nutrition research scholarship. Rachel and Tessa completed a yearlong research project titled, Seasonal Forage Yield and Nutritive Value Responses to Nitrogen Fertilization Rates in Stockpiled Tall Fescue. 

Rachel and Tessa traveled each month from October through March to the Shenandoah Valley Agricultural Research and Extension Center in Raphine, VA to design, fertilize, and harvest their plots. They were responsible for all aspects of their research; from harvest to processing samples for analysis, to reporting their findings at the Dennis Dean Undergraduate Research and Creative Scholarship Conference. 

Both Rachel and Tessa exhibited a level of responsibility beyond their rank as students in their second year of college.  Of her experience Rachel said, “I really enjoyed performing research through the John Lee Pratt Animal Nutrition Scholarship. I got to meet many new people and got to become even closer with my classmate, Tessa Wannenburgh.”  Tessa said, “The Pratt Research Scholarship allowed me to work in the field and gain experience with tools I was previously unfamiliar with. The AT program provided me with hands-on experiences I would not have had otherwise. I came in with limited experience and I am leaving with new skills and knowledge that I am excited and confident in putting into use.” 

Advanced Instructor and Pratt Scholarship Advisor Wesley Gwaltney said, “I would like to congratulate both Rachel and Tessa on a job well done, you have laid a great foundation for work I hope AT students continue for years to come.”