Iowa Seed Association Scholars
Caitlyn Bruntz, daughter of Jordan and Crystal Bruntz of Cambridge, Iowa is a senior studying Agronomy and Seed Science with minors in Data Science and Genetics. Her interest in seed science was kindled by a first-rate high school agronomy teacher who pointed her sights to a career in agriculture. Caitlyn worked in the Germination Lab of ISU’s Seed Science Center where she subjected cereal, ornamental, and vegetable seeds to cold, sand cold, saturated cold, advanced aging, and electrical conductivity tests. She also assists graduate students in Dr. Asheesh Singh’s Soybean Research Group in the Agronomy Department. Her research compares soybean genotype performance in drought versus irrigated environments. Caitlyn has served as a crop scout for ServiTech, a breeding intern for Bayer, and a biology intern for PowerPollen. Her outside-the-classroom activities include being a member of the American Seed Trade Association, the Iowa Corn Growers Association, and the National Association of Plant Breeders. After graduation, she plans to use her plant breeding experience to bring innovation to efforts to produce more nutritious foods to people across the globe.
Emma Davidson is a sophomore from Northwood who studies Agronomy and Seed Science. His parents, Ron and Michelle Davidson, operate a farm where Emma had her first taste of deciding the best seeds to use. Soon, she was describing herself as “a future agronomist with a passion for seed production.” Wanting to learn more about farming, she served as a crop scout at Viafield, a local cooperative. She is currently a seed conditioning technician at the ISU Seed Science Center. Not a stranger to the Dean’s List, Emma serves as recording secretary for the ISU Agronomy Club and was a member of the Iowa State Crop Judging Team. After graduation, Emma plans to work as an agronomist specializing in seed development. Her interests lie in finding new ways to increase yields, improve disease resistance, and soil management.
Alaina Gebel, who hails from Lansing, is a sophomore majoring in Agricultural Education with minors in Agronomy and International Agriculture. Growing up on a small hobby farm, she helped parents Nate and Tamy Gebel raise purebred Dorset lambs and manage 50 acres of corn, hay, and soybean. Alaina became heavily involved in 4-H and served two terms as president of her FFA chapter. At Iowa State, she joined a number of student organizations, including the Agronomy Club, the Iowa Corn Growers Association, and Sigma Alpha, a professional agricultural sorority that promotes scholarship, leadership, service, and fellowship among its members. She has participated in several national and international forums, such as the Agriculture Future America’s Leadership Conference and the Borlaug Dialogue of the World Food Prize. In May, she travels to Rome, Italy to conduct research work with the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization, having been selected to the Dean’s Global Agriculture and Food Leadership Program. She hopes to inspire the next generation of agriculturists as a teacher.
Renee Gehrke, from Byron, Illinois, is in her senior year studying Agricultural Business. Parents Jason and Kathi Gehrke got Renee very much interested in the family’s black Angus cattle farm where she managed her own cattle herd, grew sweetcorn, and sold firewood when she was in high school. Renee was involved in FFA, earning her American FFA degree, and taking on the role of president of her FFA chapter, section, and 4-H club. Having been admitted to Iowa State, she decided to join the Seed Science Center’s Germination Lab, where, for two years, she prepared planting materials and evaluated whether seeds were germinating up to standards. Renee is the current logistics coordinator for the Agricultural Business Club. After graduation, she plans to continue in the agronomy and business fields with a goal of making an impact on her community and the agriculture industry.
Madelyn DeJong is a senior from Montezuma studying Agronomy and Seed Science. Her passion for agriculture began early as she accompanied parents Cory and Holly DeJong on field visits. Putting her entrepreneurial skills to work as a teenager, she started her own business growing and selling pumpkins and ornamental corn. Each year, she enjoyed picking seeds of different varieties and observing which grew best in her patch; this marked the beginning of her interest in Seed Science. Her desire to learn more about agriculture prompted Madelyn to take on several internships. As a sales agronomy intern with Key Cooperative, she had hands-on experience with corn and soybean hybrids. Being an agronomy intern with Ag Leader Technology taught her the importance of planting seeds at the correct depth to ensure even emergence. She conducted in-field assessments as a product marketing intern with AgVenture. She is currently a research assistant in Iowa State’s Weed Science Department, helping in an ongoing project on the Weed Seed Destructor. Madelyn serves on several committees of the Sigma Alpha Sorority. She is also involved in the Agronomy Club and is a member of the American Legion Auxiliary in her hometown. She hopes to pursue a career in the seed industry following graduation.
Aden Mess is a junior in Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering from Davenport. Aden was raised by parents Tammy Wells and Rick Mess on a farm where he was readily fascinated by how varieties of the same crop can be vastly different from each other. From high school through the first year of college, Aden would spend many hours selecting flower seeds to stock his small business—growing cut flowers and selling them for events and at local markets. His business thrived, prompting him to hire friends to help. Aden has interned at Ag Leader, learning about and developing new precision technologies to deliver seeds to the ground in the most efficient way. There, he also honed his interpersonal and communication skills, and learned the value of being a dependable team player. His extra-curricular activities did not get in the way of his being named to the Dean’s List for two of the four semesters on which he was on a full course load. Not bad for someone who wants to be a part of the next agricultural revolution.
Zachary Utley is a junior from New Hampton who is majoring in Agronomy and Seed Science. Growing up, Zach learned from parents Tony and Jennifer Utley the ins and outs of their seed sales and treatment business. This gave him a firsthand look at the seed business and fed his love of the industry. For one, it taught him strong interpersonal skills as he was placed in charge of delivering seed to customers. Zach is a consistent Dean’s Lister who has active leadership roles in many campus organizations and projects. He was selected as a delegate to a national leadership conference in Kansas City; his leadership skills caught the attention of one of his Agronomy professors who made him an undergraduate teaching assistant. He has interned at Farmers Win Coop and worked for Vision Crop Consulting. Zach plans to work in his dad’s seed business as a dealer and crop consultant and hopes to eventually make his mark on the seed industry by coming up with his own business venture.
ISA Scholar and Manjit Misra Outstanding Senior
Kaitlynne Henriksen, a senior in Agriculture Systems Technology, hails from Avoca with parents James and Karley Davis and Tyler Parkhurst. Kaitlynne credits her two years working at the Seed Science Center’s Seed Conditioning Lab for nurturing her interest in seeds. Her team’s capstone project on improving the vibratory deck separator for small seeds takes up most of her time these days. A vibratory deck separator is a machine used to separate and classify particles based on their size and shape. It consists of a screen deck that vibrates at a high frequency and is designed with various options to suit the specific application. Her appreciation of the seed industry grew from her attendance in two conferences (on field crops and vegetables and flowers) sponsored by the American Seed Trade Association. On top of these, she completed ASTA’s Seed Ambassador Leadership Training. An engaged student, Kaitlynne represents students in the Technology Curriculum Committee, is a peer facilitator for the program for Women in Science and Engineering, a team leader for Destination Iowa State, and a peer mentor in the YWCA-ISU Girls Power Program. Kaitlynne says the connections she has forged while working at the Seed Science Center have been most helpful as she decides on her future career.
Bill Latham Memorial Scholar
Alex Coughlin is a senior in Agronomy and Seed Science from Watertown, Wisconsin. He grew up on a 2,000-acre corn and soybean farm operated by his parents, Chris and Kristie Coughlin, in southeastern Wisconsin where he soon developed a keen interest in the “personalities” of hybrid corn and soybeans. He particularly delighted in placing these hybrids/varieties across their various owned and leased farms where he observed what each unique hybrid can tolerate. This interest really took off a few years ago when he was approached by their local agronomist to help conduct population trials on new hybrids. Over the course of three years, as he watched certain hybrids excel and fail at high or low populations, he found himself wanting to push to see what kind of top-end yields are obtainable in their area. While helping with these trials, he entered one of the hybrids in the National Corn Growers Association’s corn yield contest and placed second in the Wisconsin State Conventional Non-Irrigated category. Alex was a starting member of the national champion ISU crops team for four years and currently serves as an assistant coach. He serves as an undergraduate teaching fellow for Agronomy 331 (Crops Practicum), has been on the Dean’s List for six semesters, and will soon graduate magna cum laude. He plans to join Bayer’s seed and traits team after graduation and is excited to provide farmers access to better genetics so they can feed a growing population.
Lisa Shepherd Jenkins Memorial Scholar
Allison Smith was raised by parents Jason and Jennifer Smith of Colona, Illinois. She graduates this December with majors in Agronomy and Seed Science, and a minor in Agriculture Systems Technology. She was introduced to the seed world through her experience in the ISU Seed Science Center’s Seed Health Testing Laboratory where she prepares materials for various tests, including blotters, bacterial and ELISA plates. Her passion for agriculture led her to various internship opportunities. As an intern at Ag Reliant Genetics, she completed a project that prepared and rated corn that had been sprayed with different herbicides. As a summer sales intern with Nutech Seeds in northern Illinois, she took stand counts and crop-scouted corn and soybean grain production fields. Allison is a member of the American Seed Trade Association, the Students of Agronomy, Soils, and Environmental Sciences (SASES), and the Agronomy Club. While she has yet to decide on exactly what career to pursue, she knows she will be working with seeds in some capacity.
