AMES, Iowa – Gamma Sigma Delta, the Iowa Beta Chapter of the Honor Society of Agriculture, held its annual award ceremony on April 20, 2023, in Curtiss Hall’s Dolezal Auditorium. During the ceremony, Iowa State University students, faculty and alumni were presented with awards, and new members were inducted into the organization.
Several mission awards were presented to faculty whose work exemplifies Iowa State’s mission in the areas of teaching, research, extension and international agriculture. The following faculty were recognized:
- Josh Selsby, professor of animal science, received the Mission Award for Teaching
- Cheryl Morris, associate professor of animal science, received the Mission Award for Research
- James Dickson, professor of animal science, received the Mission Award for International Agriculture
- Nancy Grudens-Schuck, associate professor of agricultural education and studies, received the Mission Award for Extension.
The Alumni Award of Merit was presented to Angelica Van Goor, national program leader at the United States Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture. Van Goor received her doctoral degree in genetics from Iowa State in 2016.
Douglas Ware, founder of Nutritional Physiology Corp., was presented with the Distinguished Achievement in Agriculture Award. Ware earned his master’s and doctoral degrees in animal science from Iowa State in 1975 and 1976, respectively.
Gamma Sigma Delta representatives also presented scholarships to two current students with the highest grade point average in the sophomore and senior classes. Isaiah Bates, sophomore in horticulture from Story City, Iowa, and Allie Wicklund, senior in animal science from Andover, Minnesota, were this year’s recipients.
During the ceremony, 12 undergraduate students and 27 graduate and veterinary medicine students were initiated into Gamma Sigma Delta’s Iowa Chapter. The new members include:
Junior and senior students
- Connor Becker, junior in animal science, of Maquoketa, Iowa
- Emma Mostek, junior in animal science, of Ames, Iowa
- Grace Townsend, junior in animal science, of St. Charles, Illinois
- Courtney Wuebker, junior in animal science, of Story City, Iowa
- Katelyn Groe, senior in agricultural systems technology and industrial technology, of Lake Mills, Iowa
- Abigail Kaska, senior in animal science, of Solon, Iowa
- Kamryn Lesle, senior in animal science, of Manning, Iowa
- Rebecca Noe, senior in seed science, of Eureka, Illinois
- Kristin Van Buren, senior in animal science, of Loretto, Minnesota
- Mitchell Williamson, senior in agricultural studies, of Wiota, Iowa
- Jaedyn Winter, senior in animal science, of Hawkeye, Iowa
Graduate and veterinary medicine students
- Esther Y. Akoto, graduate student in industrial and agricultural technology, of Kumasi, Ashanti Region, Ghana
- Saida Allotey, graduate student in biomedical sciences, of Accra, Ghana
- Akhil Anilkumar Vinithakumari, graduate student in microbiology, of Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India
- Kyunghoon Ban, graduate student in economics, of Ames, Iowa
- Erin Bergquist, graduate student in agricultural and life sciences education, of Nevada, Iowa
- Sarah Bludau, graduate student in meat science, of Hallettsville, Texas
- Nicole Bosco, graduate student in wildlife ecology, of East Patchogue, New York
- Jennet Chang, graduate student in agronomy, of Pago Pago, American Samoa, AS
- Real Datta, veterinary medicine student, of Ames, Iowa
- Gabrielle Doughan, graduate student in population sciences in animal health, of Ames, Iowa
- Riley Harbaugh, graduate student in agronomy, of Bettendorf, Iowa
- Dusti Ingles, graduate student in agricultural and life sciences education, of Rushville, Illinois
- Ben Jahnke, graduate student in agronomy, of Ankeny, Iowa
- Travis Jumper, graduate student in agricultural and life sciences education, of Bethalto, Illinois
- Alexandra Keller, graduate student in animal science, of Clarion, Iowa
- Ryan Lynch, graduate student in agronomy, of Bellingham, Washington
- Richard Magala, graduate student in forestry and seed science, of Kampala, Uganda
- Kristine Micheletti, graduate student in agricultural and life sciences education, of Wauconda, Illinois
- Johnson Mtama, graduate student in soil science and environmental science, of Njombe, Tanzania
- Mafalda Pedro Mil-Homens, veterinary medicine student, of Caldas da Rainha, Portugal
- Marissa Roghair Stroud, graduate student in microbiology, of Ankeny, Iowa
- Aline Sartor Chicowski, graduate student in plant pathology, of Londrina, Parana, Brazil
- Eliott Smith, graduate student in entomology, of Ames, Iowa
- Khairun Tumu, graduate student in agricultural and life sciences education, of Kushtia, Bangladesh
- Xiaolan Wan, graduate student in economics, of Ames, Iowa
- Shulan Xiao, graduate student in meat science and food science, of Liaocheng, Shandong Province, China
- Brian Zebosi, graduate student in genetics, of Kampala, Uganda
Gamma Sigma Delta is the honorary society of agriculture. The organization’s objectives are to encourage excellence in the practice of agricultural pursuits and promote high standards of scholarship throughout agricultural science and education.