LINCOLN — The Nebraska Farm Bureau Foundation awarded the Nebraska Rural Radio Foundation Scholarship in Honor of Max & Eric Brown to Caitlin Pittman of Gering, Wendy McKain of Trenton, and Samantha Rife of Stratton.
The scholarship awards non-traditional college students living in Nebraska’s rural communities. Recipients show a demonstrated commitment to the future of the agriculture industry and rural communities.
McKain lives near Trenton in Southwest Nebraska. In addition to the small farming and cattle business she runs with her husband, McKain works as a clerk for the village of Trenton. She is enrolled in Mid Plains Community College in McCook and taking courses to become an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) volunteer. McKain’s goal is to provide EMT services to her small rural community which is experiencing a lack of responders.
Pittman is a Certified Nursing Assistant at Regional West Medical Center in Scottsbluff. She was recently accepted into the University of Nebraska Medical Center Nursing Program and began her program in August. Pittman plans to continue her education, bridging a registered nurse to paramedic program to better serve her rural Nebraska Community. Pittman and her family currently reside in Gering.
Rife is a deputy clerk in the village of Trenton. Rife and her husband own a small cattle operation and grow alfalfa in Stratton. She will take classes at Mid Plains Community College to become an EMT. EMTs in her area are aging and becoming fewer and fewer, so it in imperative that volunteers fill this gap.
“Access to emergency care is a real need in rural Nebraska,” said Megahn Schafer, executive director of the Nebraska Farm Bureau Foundation. “These three recipients will contribute to a higher quality of life in their communities, and their efforts align perfectly with the generous vision of the Nebraska Rural Radio Foundation Scholarship in Honor of Max & Eric Brown.”
The mission of the Nebraska Farm Bureau Foundation is to engage youth, educators, and the general public to promote an understanding of the vital importance of agriculture in the lives of all Nebraskans. The Nebraska Farm Bureau Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. For more information about the Nebraska Farm Bureau Foundation, visit www.nefbfoundation.org.
— Nebraska Farm Bureau Foundation
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