2019 Women in Ag Scholarship Winner Brooke Coller

Meet Brooke Coller who is the 2019 recipient of the Women in Ag Scholarship.

I am a third-year Crop Science student in the College of Agriculture and Bioresources. I would like to express my sincerest thanks for the Women in Ag Undergraduate Scholarship for Academic Distinction. I grew up in Saskatoon and first attended the University of Saskatchewan in 2013 to study Economics, before moving to Ottawa in 2015 to study Biotechnology at Algonquin College. While studying there, I had the opportunity to intern with Agriculture and Agri-food Canada on a research project aimed at developing a screening process for identifying soybean cultivars suitable for growth in Saskatchewan and Manitoba. It was during this internship that I fell in love with academia and with agriculture. After completing my diploma, I moved back to Saskatoon to study Crop Science at the University of Saskatchewan. It is my express desire to undertake graduate studies in plant sciences at the University of Saskatchewan and to pursue a career in academia and crop development.

This year, the Women in Ag Scholarship has allowed me to focus on my academics and volunteer work. Through Access and Equity Services, I am a volunteer notetaker for students with learning and other disabilities. I am a volunteer associate editor on the University of Saskatchewan Undergraduate Research Journal (USURJ), which is an open-access, peer-reviewed journal featuring student research. I am a volunteer Peer Mentor with Student Learning Services, and I lead weekly study sessions for students taking first-year biology. I volunteer with CISV, a non-profit organization focused on peace education and community development. Lastly, I am a proud member and advocate of Saskatoon’s LGBT2Q+ community.

I cannot begin to express the impact that the Women in Ag Scholarship has had on both my day-to-day life as a student and the long-term positive implications of this funding. I have worked hard to put myself through school and to push myself to achieve my full potential. I feel honoured knowing that this scholarship was made possible by women supporting women. To quote Women in Ag, “women can do extraordinary things for our industry when given the opportunity to connect with and support each other”. We must continue to support and uplift one another, and I will endeavour throughout my academic and professional career to support and uplift those that will follow in my footsteps.

Congrats Brooke on being the 2019 recipient of the University of Saskatchewan College of AgBio Undergraduate Scholarship for Academic Distinction provided by Women in Ag!