Four Juniors to Receive Cowles Awards
Four juniors have been chosen to receive Reuben R. Cowles Youth Educational Awards for a total $3,500. Three will receive $1,000 awards to be used for continuing education, including Regan Leann Jackson of Boyce, Va., Peyton Shirley Simmons of Anderson, S.C., and Sarah Elizabeth Thomas of Pittsboro, N.C. The women will be honored at the Youth Awards Ceremony, which wraps up junior events at the All American, on November 5, 2022, in Louisville, Ky. Alison Grace Graves, Talbott, Tenn., will receive a $500 award to be used to fund travel to the All American Jersey Show this fall.
Regan Jackson is a freshman at Louisiana State University in the pre-med program, majoring in nutrition and food science. Her long-term goal is to become a medical doctor and advocate for dairy in the human diet.
She actively assists in the operation of Waverly Farm, owned by her grandparents, Mike and Patricia Stiles, and other members of the family, in Clear Brook, Va. She initially helped Grandma feed calves and today is solely responsible for entering data into PCDart and helps with calf care, health care, heat detection and barn cleaning.
Regan received her first calf from her grandparents as a gift for her second birthday. Her current herd of 10 heifers and 12 cows includes five Excellents. Among her hobbies is showing. She has shown at the Pennsylvania All-American Dairy Show for nine years and the All American Junior Jersey Show for eight. Success culminated in 2021 with WF Valentino Lokie earning Grand Champion in the open and junior shows in Harrisburg, Pa., and Reserve Senior Champion of the junior show in Louisville.
She has served in numerous leadership capacities for FFA and 4-H. She earned her State FFA Degree in 2021 and won a silver rating in her dairy proficiency project at the national level a year earlier. She earned a 4-H All Star award in 2020. She was a member of the Virginia dairy judging team that won the contest held with the North American International Livestock Exposition (NAILE) in 2019 and judged for the team at World Dairy Expo in 2021. She was also a member of the state’s quiz bowl team that topped the contest at NAILE in 2021. She was state runner-up for Virginia Farm Bureau’s Outstanding Young Agriculturalist in 2021.
Peyton Simmons is a freshman in the pre-vet program at Oklahoma State University.
For the past two years, she has been senior calf feeder at Milky Way Farms in Starr, S.C. The experience has sparked an interest for a career in the dairy industry.
In high school, she was active with FFA and student government. She was a member of Beta Club and Future Business Leaders of America and a varsity cheerleader.
Sarah Thomas earned a degree in dairy science from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in 2021 and is pursuing a master’s degree in agricultural communications, education and leadership from Ohio State University (OSU).
Though her father raises Herefords, Sarah has been involved with Jersey cattle since 2005, when Santa delivered three-week-old Double WK Roses Ruby. She made another purchase, Deerview Valentino Deb, from Charles Wayne Lutz, Mocksville, N.C. The two and their progeny comprised her show string over the years.
Sarah was active in 4-H and FFA and continued to be involved with dairy at Virginia Tech. She was president, vice president, reporter, and editor of the Milky Way for the dairy club. In 2018, she was a member of the quiz bowl team that won the contest at the national American Dairy Science Association meetings and the dairy judging team that placed second at World Dairy Expo.
She has served on the student social media committee of National Dairy Shrine and received the organization’s Mike Lancaster Sophomore Merit Scholarship, Sowerby Junior Merit Scholarship, McKown Scholarship, and Kildee Graduate School Scholarship.
At OSU, she is a member of the Buckeye Dairy Club and helped to coach both the quiz bowl and dairy judging teams.
After graduation, she plans to pursue a career that combines her love of the dairy industry and skills in communications.
Alison Graves graduated from Berean Christian School in 2022 and plans to earn a veterinarian technician degree to work with large animals.
Her journey with Jerseys began as a fourth grader with youth projects. Her herd today numbers 26 head. She is a vet assistant at Five Rivers Mobile Vet Services, operated by Jersey breeder Daniel Parks, D.V.M., and helps with milking at the farm in Morristown, Tenn.
She is president of the Tennessee Junior Jersey Cattle Club and held the offices of secretary and treasurer as well. She has also held leadership positions with 4-H and FFA. She was co-chair of an active June Dairy Month project that invites community to learn about dairy through games, churning butter and making ice cream. Alison also donates time for community service through her youth group at Lebanon Baptist Church.
The Cowles Youth Educational Award
The Cowles Youth Educational Award differs from many of the traditional scholarships managed by the American Jersey Cattle Association (AJCA). While it can be used to fund education, it can also be used for a broad range of other educational purposes. As well, it is available only to young Jersey breeders who reside in one of six southeastern states―Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia.
The fund was established to help young people get a start in the dairy business, be that through advanced studies, or another avenue altogether. Youth may use the award to defray travel expenses to The All American, annual meetings of the national Jersey organizations, World Dairy Expo, or another dairy industry venue. Jersey enthusiasts up to 36 years-of-age are eligible to apply, so the award can help entrepreneurs broaden their network, discover opportunities, and develop their own niche in the dairy industry.
The Cowles Youth Educational Award was initially given as a regional award in 1986. It was added to the pool of scholarships managed by the AJCA in 1998. In the past 36 years, more than $43,500 has been awarded to 39 individuals. Many have established themselves in the dairy industry today, with careers in A.I., cattle marketing and dairy herd management. Two are serving as directors of the American Jersey Cattle Association. One is a former chair of the All American Junior Activities Committee. All have benefitted from the efforts of a group of Jersey breeders to honor a man affectionately known as “Mr. Jersey” in the Southeast.
Jersey Youth Scholarships
Applications for the Reuben R. Cowles Youth Educational Fund and other scholarships from the AJCA are available at www.USJersey.com/YouthProgram/scholarshipinfo.html. Applications for the 2023-2024 school year will be accepted from April 1 through July 1, 2023.
For more information, contact Kim Billman, AJCA Director of Communications, at 6486 E. Main St., Reynoldsburg, OH 43068, 614/322-4451, or kbillman@usjersey.com.
