Twelve agriculture students named Big Ten Distinguished Scholars

Story by Chad Campbell

Photos from Purdue Athletics

July 12, 2021

Twelve student-athletes from Purdue University’s College of Agriculture were named Big Ten Distinguished Scholars for their academic excellence during the 2020-21 school year. In total, 85 Boilermakers earned the honor, setting a record for the university.

 

To qualify, awardees must achieve a grade-point average of 3.70 or better during the school year.

 

Hayley Bush, Cassidy Hardin and Ethan Smiley earned the award for the second time in 2021. Taylor Mortensen and Tessa Sheets are three-time recipients.

Hayley Bush playing volleyball for Purdue

Hayley Bush

Agricultural Economics

Union, Kentucky

Volleyball

Emma Ellis playing volleyball for Purdue

Emma Ellis

Animal Sciences

Charlotte, North Carolina

Volleyball

Brooks Royal playing football for Purdue

Brooks Royal

Agricultural & Biological Engineering

Fitzgerald, Georgia

Football

Ethan Smiley

Ethan Smiley

Botany and Plant Pathology

Beech Grove, Indiana

Wrestling

Cassidy Hardin

Cassidy Hardin

Biochemistry

Bargersville, Indiana

Basketball

Megan Casey

Megan Casey

Agricultural and Biological Engineering

Mason, Ohio

Track and Field

Emma Tate

Emma Tate

Botany and Plant Pathology

West Lafayette, Indiana

Track and Field

Mortensen

Taylor Mortensen

Animal Sciences

Hershey, Pennsylvania

Track and Field

Keesling

Emma Keesling

Agricultural and Biological Engineering

Modoc, Indiana

Track and Field

Sheets

Tessa Sheets

Animal Sciences

Chatham County, North Carolina

Track and Field

Smeltz

Jackson Smeltz

Agricultural Economics

Lafayette, Indiana

Baseball

Wilhoit

Kasey Wilhoit

Agronomy

Franklin, Indiana

Softball

Eight agriculture students named Academic All-Big Ten

Eight student-athletes from Purdue University’s College of Agriculture earned Academic All-Big Ten recognition during the spring sports season, helping the university reach a record 92 recipients. A total of 256 student-athletes received the honor in 2020-21, another record.

Read Full Story >>>

Ag alumni share their Purdue Pete lore

Each school day afternoon, the busses line up outside Woodbrook Elementary in Carmel, Ind. In bus #168, driver Van Betulius, BS’76, and passenger Brayden Krueger patiently wait to get to the front of the line by playing math games.

“There must be seven buses in front of us,” says Betulius, intentionally miscounting the number to challenge Krueger’s math skills.

The two became bus buddies earlier in the school year when Betulius told Krueger he had once been Purdue Pete.

Read Full Story >>>

Six agriculture students named Big Ten Distinguished Scholars

Six student-athletes from Purdue University’s College of Agriculture have earned the Big Ten Distinguished Scholar Award for the 2019-2020 academic year. Each year, the honor is given to students on varsity rosters who maintain a grade-point average of 3.7 or higher.

Among the honorees, Tessa Sheets ranked in the top 16.5% of Big Ten Distinguished Scholars by achieving a 4.0 GPA.

Read Full Story >>>

Eight agriculture students named Academic All-Big Ten

Eight student-athletes from Purdue University’s College of Agriculture earned Academic All-Big Ten recognition during the spring sports season, helping the university reach a record 92 recipients. A total of 256 student-athletes received the honor in 2020-21, another record.

Read Full Story >>>

Ag alumni share their Purdue Pete lore

Each school day afternoon, the busses line up outside Woodbrook Elementary in Carmel, Ind. In bus #168, driver Van Betulius, BS’76, and passenger Brayden Krueger patiently wait to get to the front of the line by playing math games.

“There must be seven buses in front of us,” says Betulius, intentionally miscounting the number to challenge Krueger’s math skills.

The two became bus buddies earlier in the school year when Betulius told Krueger he had once been Purdue Pete.

Read Full Story >>>

Six agriculture students named Big Ten Distinguished Scholars

Six student-athletes from Purdue University’s College of Agriculture have earned the Big Ten Distinguished Scholar Award for the 2019-2020 academic year. Each year, the honor is given to students on varsity rosters who maintain a grade-point average of 3.7 or higher.

Among the honorees, Tessa Sheets ranked in the top 16.5% of Big Ten Distinguished Scholars by achieving a 4.0 GPA.

Read Full Story >>>