EAST LANSING, Mich. — Congratulations to the 2021-2022 recipients of the Smith-Pickard Friendship and Alliance Scholarship, who will attend Florida A&M University in the College of Agriculture and Food Science/School of Business & Industry.
GreenStone Farm Credit Services will offer professional mentors to the students, as well as assist them in finding internships. GreenStone has also donated a laptop to each student. In addition to GreenStone’s commitment to these students, the national Farm Credit System will also be providing a $3,500 stipend to each student who becomes a Farm Credit intern to assist with travel, housing or other general intern costs through the Launching Leaders program.
The award winners are:
Makailah Danzy, Kalamazoo Central High School
Aaron Richard Jr, University of Detroit Jesuit High School and Academy
Alexis Roberts, Mercy High School
Sydney Smith, Detroit Public Schools Community District
Dionne Star Jones, Bahamas
Hubert Fernander, Bahamas
The Friendship and Alliance Scholarship is a partnership between Cornelius A. Smith, Governor-General of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, and William F. Pickard, Honorary Consul, Detroit, for the Commonwealth of the Bahamas. The goal of the award is to support young leaders that aspire educate themselves and work in the field of agriculture.
Pickard is the chair of Global Automotive Alliance, a co-managing partner of MGM Grand Detroit Casino, CEO of Bearwood Management Company, and co-owner of five black-owned newspapers including the Michigan Chronicle. Cornelius A. Smith is the current Governor-General of the Bahamas, and was the ambassador to the United States since 2008. Previously, he served 20 years in Parliament as senior Cabinet Minister for Tourism, Public Safety, Education, and Aviation. He and Pickard met in the Bahamas when Smith was a teacher, and they kept in touch over their careers.
Among the honorees, Alexis Roberts is majoring in business administration and minoring in agriculture.
“Living in Michigan, I thought of agriculture as farming, and I didn’t know what else it had to offer until I started researching all the business opportunities,” said Roberts. “As I learned it’s a big part of everything we do on a daily basis, I grew interested in it and wanted to explore it more. I’m really interested in finance, and I’d love to meld my finance and accounting interest with agricultural business. This award gives me a great opportunity to experience new things out of state and figure out what I want to do for a career.”
The scholarship will pay for up to 15 hours of tuition for the fall and spring semesters annually and is renewable each year for up to three years. GreenStone is the agricultural connection on the scholarship advisory committee, as the award is designated for Black students who attend a historically Black school and study agriculture. The future goal is to award eight students – half from Michigan and half from the Bahamas – with four years of scholarship funds.
“We are excited to support the youth of Detroit and Bahamas in their pursuit of a career in agriculture,” said Beth Barker, GreenStone executive VP and chief human resources officer. “In addition to supporting the Friendship Alliance Scholarship program, GreenStone provides 20 scholarships annually for incoming college freshman studying agriculture or an ag-related field. We also support several youth programs like 4-H, FFA and Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources and Related Sciences (MANRRS). Our partnership with the Friendship Alliance Scholarship program at Florida A&M University is a natural extension of our commitment to bringing great talent into our industry.”
About GreenStone Farm Credit Services
GreenStone Farm Credit Services, based in East Lansing, Michigan, is Michigan and northeast Wisconsin’s largest agricultural lender and one of the country’s largest associations in the Farm Credit System. A member-owned cooperative, GreenStone owns and manages more than $11 billion in assets and serves over 27,000 members with 36 branch locations in Michigan and northeast Wisconsin. More information on GreenStone is available at www.greenstonefcs.com.
— GreenStone Farm Credit Services