Undergraduate PSIS Major Awarded $10,000 Scholarship by California Organic Food Producer

Alissa Martin, a UMass Undergraduate Plant, Soil & Insect Sciences (PSIS) Major, was awarded a $10,000 scholarship from Annie's Homegrown, an organic food company based in California. The company describes their Sustainable Agriculture Scholarship Program as follows:

"Sustainable and organic agriculture is at the very root of our philosophy:  Planet to Food. Food to People. People to Planet.  We believe that healthy soils and healthy farms are the foundation for healthy foods, which help make healthy people!  Therefore, we’re proud to support the next generation of farmers."

Alissa and her excellent accomplishments at UMass fit right in with the Annie's Homegrown philosophy. She will use the scholarship towards her quest for a second undergraduate bachelor's degree in the Department of Plant, Soil, and Insect Sciences, with a concentration in Sustainable Food and Farming. She is expecting to graduate in December 2011

Originally from Omaha, NE, Alissa now lives in Deerfield, MA. She was a part of the UMass Student Farming Enterprise, developed and taught by PSIS Instructors Ruth Hazzard and Amanda Brown. She also took Greenhouse Crop Production courses and Postharvest Physiology with PSIS Associate Professor Dr. Susan Han.

"These courses and instructors have been most influential for me at UMass, and it's thanks to their wonderful teaching and guidance that I was awarded something like this."

Congratulations to Alissa, and kudos to the PSIS personnel who inspired her.