CAES Alumni Association
Awards & Scholarships
Congratulations to the 2008 Award Winners!
2008 CAES Alumni Association Awards
Rising Star Award
The Rising Star Award pays tribute to a member of the junior class who has excelled in leadership activities and scholarship. The CAES Alumni Association recognizes that student leaders today will be leaders for the Association tomorrow, and nothing can strengthen and enhance an alumni association like strong, dedicated alumni leaders.
Sarah Masoero is majoring in avian biology. Since attending UGA, she has worked with the Make-A-Wish Foundation on campus from 2005-2006 and was a Pre-Vet Club member from 2005-2007. Masoero has been active in the Leadership Education and Advocacy for Students with Disabilities Club since 2005. As co-chair, Masoero organizes fund raising events and club meetings. She is also a panel member in the Gwinnett College Fair and Camps for Children with Disabilities and raises disability awareness to UGA students by presenting to classes and departments.
Masoero has been inducted into many honor societies including Delta Epsilon Iota and Sigma Alpha Lambda. She has received the Who’s Who among Students in American Universities and Colleges Award and the Lauren Melissa Kelly Award. Masoero is a member of the National Society of Collegiate Scholars and is a Presidential Scholar.
Masoero is an active participant in community service. She has donated her time to take trips to Camp Twin Lakes to present to prospective college students with disabilities and has volunteered with an animal medical clinic in Georgia.
CAES Alumni Association Young Alumni Achievement Award
The CAES Alumni Association Young Alumni Achievement Award recognizes College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences alumni who are 35 years old or less who have achieved excellence in their chosen field and/or in their community.
Brent L. Dykes received a B.S. in Crop Science in 1996. While at UGA, Dykes was the recipient of numerous scholarships including the Georgia Crop Improvement Association Scholarship, Governor’s Honors Program Scholarship and the Georgia Association of Conservation District Supervisors Scholarship. He also received the Outstanding Student Award from the American Society of Agronomy and was named Outstanding Senior for the UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.
Dykes began his career as a resource specialist for the Georgia Soil and Water Conservation Commission. Within three years he was promoted to regional representative for the Commission. Four years later, Dykes took the position of deputy executive director. In 2005, he was appointed acting executive director, the position in which he currently serves.
As the executive director of the Georgia Soil and Water Conservation Commission, Dykes oversees the state’s voluntary soil and water programs, coordinates the water conservation districts, provides educational programs on the conservation of soil and water resources and provides critical information on the prevention of agricultural non-point source pollution.
Dyke’s accomplishments earned him recognition by the State of Georgia and the Soil and Water Conservations. He was recently inducted as an honorary member of AGHON, the University of Georgia’s agricultural honor society and serves as a volunteer for the CAES Alumni Association.
C. Elliot Marsh Jr. received an Agricultural Economics degree from the University of Georgia in 2002. During his time at UGA, he served as vice noble ruler of planning and noble ruler of Alpha Gamma Rho and vice president of the Agronomy Club. Marsh was the recipient of the W. A. Sutton Leadership Award from Alpha Gamma Rho.
After graduating, Marsh took the position of research associate II in Georgia Southern’s Coastal Rivers Water Planning and Policy Center where he authored and co-authored several research papers. During Marsh’s previous career with the Coastal Rivers Water Planning and Policy Center, he was a lead researcher for the Water Policy Center on a joint project with the Georgia Soil and Water Conservation Commission. Marsh is currently an agribusiness coordinator and instructor at Ogeechee Technical College in Statesboro, GA.
In Marsh’s present position, he manages the agribusiness curricula, course instruction, advises students and recruits new students to the program.
Marsh is an active member of the Statesboro Bulloch County Chamber of Commerce and the Statesboro Kiwanis club, the 2008 participant of Georgia Agri-Leaders Forum and a volunteer soccer coach with Upward Statesboro. He also serves as the Ogeechee Technical College team captain for Relay for Life. In 2007, Marsh was elected to the Board of Directors for the Agricultural Economics Association of Georgia. He began volunteering for the CAES Alumni Association in 2007, and was recently elected as the first president of the East Georgia CAES Alumni Chapter.
Yvette Smith graduated from the University of Georgia in 1997 with a bachelor’s degree in Agricultural Education. While at UGA, she was active in the Block and Bridle Club, the Collegiate FFA and Georgia Cattleman’s Association. Smith’s academic achievements include being selected for the Most Improved Student Award and as a Perfect Scholar.
Smith has enjoyed teaching agriculture in high school for nine years. She is responsible for educating young people about the environment, potential careers in agriculture education and the ever-changing agriculture industry. Smith’s role as a teacher, advisor and mentor allows her to help students realize their full potential and assist them on the road to success. Smith considers her biggest accomplishment to be that she can make an impact on the lives of the children she comes in contact with every day.
In her community, Smith contributes to the United Way Foundation and participates in American Red Cross fundraising efforts. She is an FFA advisor and has implemented many community service projects such as “Miss SEB”, a reverse beauty pageant with proceeds donated to the Bulloch County Relay for Life. After Smith received the Youth Service America grant, she created the “Friends with Flowers” project where her horticulture class made and delivered floral arrangements to patients at the local hospice facility and community members who were housebound.
This year, Smith was honored with the 2008-2009 Teacher of the Year Award at Southeast Bulloch High School and went on to become the Bulloch County Teacher of the Year. She is a department chair of the CTAE Department, a member of the Professional Learning Committee and the School Improvement Team.
CAES Alumni Association Award of Excellence
The CAES Alumni Association Award of Excellence recognizes College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences alumni who have achieved excellence in their chosen field and/or in their community.
Will Harris III - Upon graduating from UGA in 1976 with a bachelor’s degree in animal science, Will Harris took the reins of White Oak Pastures, his family cattle farm. As a fourth generation cattleman, he took his University of Georgia education and the experiences he learned from his forefathers a step further.
After ten years of raising the cattle like his father, feeding them grain and using antibiotics in their feed, Harris started reading about consumer demand for humanely-raised beef. He began researching alternative methods of raising cattle and asked the UGA Center for Agribusiness and Economic Development to facilitate a feasibility study.
Armed with data from the study, Harris switched his cattle to a 100 percent forage diet instead of the typical grain diet in 1995. In 2008, White Oak Pastures is nearing the completion of its program to become a certified organic beef producer. The cattle on the farm are not given hormones or antibiotics. They eat grass without pesticides and they breed naturally, like in his great-grandfather’s day.
To maintain the quality of his meat, Harris sells the product solely as ground beef. All the beef cuts are used to create a premium ground beef. White Oak Pastures beef is sold from Florida to Maine through a health-food distributor and at Publix Super Markets across the Southeast. White Oak Pastures Ground Beef is high in good fats like omega 3 and CLA and low in saturated fats. The ground beef was the grand prize winner of the 2008 Flavor of Georgia competition for local food growers.
Harris opened his own $1.5 million small meat processing plant in July. The new plant, Georgia’s first on-farm processing plant, will process Harris’s own beef as well as goats, sheep and cattle from surrounding farms. The facility received the Certified Humane designation from Humane Farm Animal Care, an organization based out of Virginia.
2008 Freshmen Scholarships
Justin Tyler Brown is a graduate of Southeast Bulloch High School. During high school, he served as 4-H vice president, FFA chapter treasurer, president and secretary of the Beta Club, president of the Key Club and a member of the tennis team. He participated in Project S.A.F.E., Georgia Youth Summit and the poultry judging team while involved in 4-H. Brown was awarded the Southeast Bulloch High School Scholastic Achievement Award, FFA Chapter Star Greenhand Award, and was selected as a U.S. Achievement Academy All-American Scholar. While at UGA, Brown will study biological sciences and hopes to attend medical school to pursue a career as a pediatric endocrinologist or a pediatric cardiologist.
Kathleen Nolan Gazda is a graduate of Athens Academy. During high school, she was involved in 4-H, the National Junior Angus Association, FCA, cheerleading and volleyball. Gazda held leadership roles in the Georgia Junior Angus and the Clarke-Oconee Junior Cattlemen’s associations. She volunteered with the Special Olympics, Relay for Life, Habitat for Humanity and the American Red Cross. Among her honors, Gazda was selected for Who’s Who Among American High School Students, Miss Georgia Angus and a Varsity Cheerleading Leadership Award. She plans to obtain an undergraduate and graduate degree in agriculture communication and pursue a career in communications.
Amber Christian Rolader graduated from Morgan County High School. She held many leadership roles including president of the 4-H Club, the International Club and the Ultimate Frisbee Club. Rolader volunteered in the community by teaching French vocabulary lessons to fifth graders, collecting trash and monitoring pH levels for Jack’s Creek in Bishop, GA. as well as creating an Adopt-A-Stream project for the creek. Among her awards, she received the President’s Volunteer Service Award, Excellence in Environmental Stewardship Award and the President’s Education Award. While attending UGA, she hopes to study abroad in Costa Rica and study environmental interdisciplinary studies.
Edmond Tyson Strickland graduated from Perry High School. There, he was active in FFA, 4-H, golf, football and the Georgia Junior Cattlemen’s Association. Strickland served as president of FFA and captain of the golf and football teams. He received national first place on the Nursery/Landscape team and won state on the Meats Evaluation and Forestry teams. His academic awards include the Perry High First Honors Award, as well as Rotary and Kiwanis clubs Student of the Month Award. Strickland helped his community by participating in the Perry Volunteer Outreach, helping to build a Perry High softball dugout and helped with family day for Frito-Lay employees. He will study animal science and hopes to attend veterinary or medical school.
Laura Ann Williford graduated from Perry High School. She served as National Honor Society vice president and FFA chapter treasurer. Williford was active in Student Council, the International Club and was a staff writer for her school paper. She was a UGA Merit Scholar and was chosen for Who’s Who Among America’s High School Students. In her community, she volunteered with the Girl Scout Organization, Habitat for Humanity, Project Agape Love, Perry Volunteer Outreach and Volunteer Houston County. Williford is currently undecided about her major, but is sure that CAES will open up opportunities for her to further her education in agriculture.
2008 CAES Alumni Association Transfer Scholarship Recipients
Geoffrey Steven Brown from Eastanollee is a transfer student from Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College. Brown was selected as an ABAC Ambassador where he helped recruit students and gave tours to families of prospective students among other duties. In 2008, Brown was named Distinguished Ambassador of the Year for dedicating over 130 hours of service to that role. He actively participates in 4-H and is currently a leadership counselor at Rock Eagle. Brown plans to receive an Agricultural Communication degree with an emphasis in marketing and a graduate degree in Agricultural Leadership.
Andrew Lawson Ross from Wray is a transfer student from Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College. For the past two years, Ross has participated in the Student Leadership University in Orlando, Fla., and Washington, D.C. Throughout high school, he completed over 350 hours of community service, and continued his service while in college. Ross served as president of ABAC Baptist Collegiate Ministries, senator in the ABAC SGA and vice president of the Campus Activities Board. Ross works in the Horticulture Department at the UGA Coastal Plain Station. He is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Agriscience and Environmental Systems.