Posted: April 13, 2017

On March 29-April 2nd, 2017, Penn State MANRRS Chapter traveled to Pittsburgh for the National MANRRS Conference.

Nine of the students in our MANRRS Chapter attended with the hopes of gaining leadership skills, internship opportunities, and networking for success. This was the first time in over 10 years the conference was in Pennsylvania, and Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences by way of the Office of Multicultural Affairs were co-sponsors and co-hosts of the annual event.

MANRRS Conferences are also a time for the students to compete with peers in judged competitions such as research discussions, poster presentations, and essay contests. This is where Penn State shines on an almost annual basis: Maurice Smith Jr, PhD Candidate in AEE at Penn State, took home first prize in Oral Research Contest - Division II - Graduate Student. Celize Christy, 1st year Masters Student in Rural Soc, won a 2nd place award in her research discussion contest. Chenira Smith and Merielle Stamm, both first year master's students in AEE, won second and third place prizes, respectively, in the Research poster Contest II - Graduate Student division. It was amazing to see the hard work of these students pay off on a national level.

Celize Christy was also awarded the Cynthia Hayes Memorial Scholarship from the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition and the South Eastern African American Farmers' Organic Network (SAAFON). She won this scholarship through an essay contest. Congratulations Celize!

Courtnee Eddington, 3rd year PhD student in Entomology, also highlights Penn State's leadership role in MANRRS by being chosen as the Region 1 Graduate Vice President. Courtnee will do great in this role as a graduate liaison from the MANRRS chapters in our region to the national office.

Overall, the conference was great. With over 950 registrants, representation from most of the 1862 and 1890 institutions, MANRRS is growing. We hope to continue to promote diversity in Ag Sciences here at Penn State through MANRRS and look forward to next year in Greensboro, NC.