Sheridan Wilson of Lemoyne, Nebraska, has been named the 2024 recipient of the Larry E. Sitzman Youth in Nebraska Agriculture Scholarship. Sheridan, daughter of Mark and Shandra Wilson, is a junior at the University of Nebraska Lincoln studying grassland systems with a grazing livestock systems option. She will receive a $1,000 scholarship.
Leadership has been a big part of Sheridan’s life, and it is something she values in others as well as in herself. She joined the speech team to work on her public speaking skills and ran for office in organizations she was part of. Sheridan was president of her High School National Honor Society and FFA Chapter. This year, Sheridan was elected president of the UNL Range Management Club. She prepares meetings, recruits new members, and encourages current members to actively participate in various activities the club puts on. She is planning a trip for the UNL Range Management Club to go to the National Society for Range Management meeting in Sparks, Nevada, in January. Sheridan is also highly active as a student leader in the Navigators Student Ministry. As a student leader, she leads a Bible study, attends disciple-making trainings, and participates in community events. Outside of class she meets with Freshman on campus to see how they are adjusting to college life and helping them with their schoolwork.
Along with being a leader on and off campus, Sheridan is an advocate for the agriculture industry. Being involved on her family’s ranch has given Sheridan an inside look into the agriculture industry and a drive to educate others on what this industry is all about. In recent years, Sheridan joined a program called College Aggies Online, which teaches students how to share information about agriculture on social media. It was a nine-week program that helped her understand how to reach people outside of the agriculture industry and educate them in a positive and informative way. “I can confidently say that I am a defender, supporter and promoter of the agriculture industry,” she said. “I have summoned courage I did not know I possessed to begin developing a voice on social media. I hope that one day everyone in the agriculture industry finds the courage to become a passionate ‘advocate’.”
After graduating from UNL, Sheridan plans to start her own private range management consulting company. She wants to teach ranchers how to be more efficient with their cow/calf operations. She knows how important cattle are to ranchers and how important healthy pastures are for feeding cattle. Her goal is to lead the ranching community towards more efficient and productive grazing strategies. Sheridan believes that each calf she raises as a rancher is making a difference by feeding someone and wants to instill the same feeling in her future customers.
Sheridan’s passion for agriculture reflects the true nature that the Sitzman scholarship was established for. All of us at the Nebraska Pork Producers Association congratulate Sheridan on being selected as the 2024 recipient of the Larry E. Sitzman Youth in Nebraska Agriculture Scholarship!
The Nebraska Pork Producers Association is a grassroot, incorporated, nonprofit organization established in 1961. NPPA was developed to promote the pork industry through the enhancement of consumer demand, producer education and research, funded by producer checkoff dollars. For more information, visit NPPA’s website at www.NEpork.org.
