Two Ridgewater Ag Students Become National Champs; Two More Elected National Officers
April 4, 2022
Five Ridgewater Agriculture students recently placed in the top three at the National Professional Agriculture Students (PAS) conference held March 16-19 in Bloomington. In addition, two students were elected to top PAS officer positions.
Twenty-four Ridgewater students competed in 16 different areas with about 400 other participants.
In the Career Progress competition within the Ag Business Management & Marketing Systems division, Agri Business student Alex Formo (from Maynard) earned championship honors while Kellie Wilts (Herman) took second.
Veterinary Technology student Sarah Moore (Hoffman) also came home a champion in the Animal Health competition within the Vet Tech Specialist division.
National third-place awards went to Precision Agriculture student Makayla Breth (St. Anthony) in Career Progress, Power Structural and Technical Systems and Agri Business student Jayden Bailey (Benson) in Ag Sales.
“After a canceled conference in 2020 and an online conference in 2021, it was great to return to an in-person event,” said Ridgewater PAS advisor Doug Lind. “This was a great opportunity for our students to showcase their skills.”
In addition to the contests, students heard presentations on topics including mental health, livestock drug rules, career leadership, LinkedIn, and many more.
National Officers
Bryce Thompson (Buffalo) will serve the next year as National PAS President. He is a December 2021 graduate of the Agri Business and Precision Agriculture programs and a current Professional Photography student. Breth will share the experience as she performs National Vice President duties. In addition to her third-place award in Career Progress, she is also Ridgewater’s Student Senate president.
“Being selected as the National PAS President is super cool!” Thompson said. He feels well prepared after holding several leadership roles in Ridgewater and Minnesota PAS chapters, high school FFA, Boy Scouts, church youth, and more. “I’m just excited for students to take advantage of all that PAS has to offer. There are so many different areas and ways to get involved and prepare for the workforce to be career-ready.”
“We’re proud of how our students took their state champion success to the national level and excited to have Bryce and Makayla serving as the National PAS President and Vice President,” Lind said.
Ridgewater Agriculture students are no strangers to industry service. Last year the college had two national PAS vice presidents and in 2018, a Warrior held the president position. Earlier this year, Anna Euerle (Litchfield, Agri Business with Dairy Management emphasis) was named Princess Kay of the Milky Way, and Zola Olson (Montevideo, Agri Business and Farm Operations) was named Minnesota Beef Ambassador.
For more information about Ridgewater Agriculture programs, go to ridgewater.edu/agriculture.