Kirkwood students earn honors, scholarships in state and national events
Students in the Golf Course and Athletic Turfgrass Management Program at Kirkwood Community College had a chance to prove their classroom studies in pitched competition. They came away with two sets of conference successes in two weeks.
On January 11 ten Kirkwood students traveled to Austin, Texas to compete in the Sport Turf Managers Association annual TURFBOWL challenge. This is the second consecutive year that Kirkwood students have participated in the event.
The 2011 student teams did well, placing 4th, 5th and 6th in the two-year category out of 12 community college and University diploma teams. The students participated in a 120-question exam, followed by proving their knowledge of weeds, diseases, and insects, as well as identifying a group of live sample grasses. The students studied and prepared for the exam since September, raising $10,000 along the way in fundraising activities to support the trip.
The students fundraising efforts were also boosted by local company support from Hunter Industries and Bush Sports Turf.
In addition to the success in Austin, the students returned to Iowa to participate in the Iowa Turfgrass Conference, January 18- 20 in Des Moines. The Kirkwood students walked away with plenty of scholarship awards. Jacob Travis of Eldora received a $1,500 ITI scholarship, Jake Newman received a $1,000 ITI scholarship, and Charlie Miles of Tipton received a $500 Bayer corporate scholarship.
Miles also won an $800 Iowa Golf Course Superintendents Scholarship. Shaun Eberhart of Charlotte, Iowa received $500.00 from the Iowa Sports Turf Managers Association.
All the students participating in both the turf bowl conference and Iowa Conference are second-year students in the Golf Course and Athletic Turfgrass Management Program. Most of the students plan to seek full-time positions in the turf industry, while and others will continue their education at four-year colleges and universities.
Kirkwood enrolled 230 students in its Ag Science/Horticulture programs this year. More than 61 students are part of the Golf Course and Athletic Turfgrass program.
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Kirkwood students earning awards and scholarships for the Turfgrass program include:
Brandon Buch Fairfield, Iowa
Shaun Eberhart Charlotte, Iowa
Chris Kellner Algona, Iowa
Justin McNeal Oxford, Iowa
Charles Miles Tipton, Iowa
Jake Newman Knoxville, Iowa
Colin Stuhr Parkview, Iowa
Jacob Travis Eldora, Iowa
Matt Venditti Cedar Rapids, Iowa