The information below has been supplied by dairy marketers and other industry organizations. It has not been edited, verified or endorsed by Hoard’s Dairyman.

The 2021 Lallemand Forward Scholarship committee announces the recipients of five scholarships.­­­­ Winners range from doctoral students to undergraduates in this unique program that supports both up-and-coming and established scholars within agriculture.

“Many scholarship programs focus their support on new students just starting their education. This program also helps students that are well on their way to achieving great things in agriculture,” says Kip Karges, Ph.D., Technical Services Manager for Lallemand Animal Nutrition, North America. “This year, the committee reviewed hundreds of applications. These applications show great enthusiasm about our industry and reaffirms the bright future of agriculture and food production.”

This is the seventh year of the Lallemand Forward Scholarship program, which has provided $95,500 to students since its inception in 2015.

The five students receiving scholarships are:

• Monika Dziuba, who is pursuing both a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine and a master’s degree in food safety at Michigan State University
• Hannah Bailey, a doctoral student in nutritional sciences at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
• Kitika Gaba, a master’s student at South Dakota State University studying biological sciences
• Gaelan Combs, a senior at the University of Wisconsin-Madison pursing a degree in dairy science
• Marianne Milander, a junior at the University of Idaho studying microbiology and veterinary science
  

Monika Dziuba – DVM candidate recipient

Description automatically generated with medium confidenceDziuba was raised in a suburban Michigan town. She grew to love agriculture after visiting her family’s dairy in Poland. Dziuba completed a bachelor’s degree in animal science in 2019 from Michigan State University. She contributed to published research on bovine leukemia virus (BLV) during her undergraduate education. At veterinary school, Dziuba conducted a selective dry cow therapy research trial during an externship with Riverview, LLP. She also interned with the Michigan Milk Producers Association and worked with farmers on milk quality and FARM program certification. She is earning a dual degree — working towards both a DVM and a master’s in food safety — and plans to pursue a position to help farmers and consumers benefit from healthy animals and safe food products.

Hannah Bailey – Ph.D. candidate recipient

Description automatically generated with medium confidenceBailey graduated from Iowa State University in 2016 with a bachelor’s degree in animal science. There, Bailey assisted with beef and canine nutrition research trials. She worked as a swine nutrition assistant for Cargill Provimi and formulated diets for all life stages of pigs. In 2018, Bailey earned her master’s degree from the University of Illinois. There, she conducted trials determining the protein quality of human foods. Bailey’s doctoral work focuses on the effect of spray dried plasma on nutrient digestibility, growth performance and intestinal health of weaned pigs and sows. She plans to graduate in May 2022 and work as an animal nutritionist.

Kritika Gaba – M.S. candidate recipient

Description automatically generatedGaba holds a bachelor’s degree in food technology from Punjab Agricultural University in India. She is a graduate research assistant in the research lab of Sanjeev Anand, Ph.D., a food microbiologist at South Dakota State University. Her master’s project focuses on the development of healthy foods with the incorporation of spray-dried conjugated whey protein-probiotic powder in dairy fat-rich matrices. Gaba successfully developed a probiotic whipped cream that showed high viable probiotic counts with enhanced physicochemical characteristics and structural properties. Following her graduation in May 2023, she plans to join the R&D sector of the dairy industry.

Gaelan Combs – B.S. candidate recipient

Description automatically generated with medium confidenceCombs is working towards a degree in dairy science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Raising animals for the county fair in 4-H helped him cultivate a passion for agriculture in his hometown of Verona, Wis. Combs worked as an undergraduate research assistant since 2019 and helps with research into the liver metabolism of dairy cows. Combs participated in the college’s Midwest Regional Dairy Challenge team in 2020 where he competed with other universities in auditing a commercial dairy. He also interned with Crave Brother’s Farm, LLC, and Cargill Animal Nutrition. After graduation in May 2022, Combs plans to pursue a doctorate in dairy nutrition.

Marianne Milander – B.S. candidate recipient

Description automatically generated with medium confidenceMilander has pursued a career with animals since high school where she volunteered at the Day Road Animal Hospital in her hometown of Bainbridge Island, Wash. She is now a junior at the University of Idaho majoring in animal and veterinary science as well as microbiology. She is a research assistant under Phil Bass, Ph.D., an assistant professor of meat science. In 2021, Milander also began working in a biological sciences research lab studying retinal regeneration in zebrafish. She is an officer in the University of Idaho Pre-Veterinary Club, where she has been an officer since her first semester on campus.