Photo: AGNR Alumni Chapter President Robert Morris, AREC alumnus Mason Grahame, AGNR Dean Craig Beyrouty
Current and former AREC students were recognized with awards at the Alumni Dinner on April 6 in the Samuel Riggs IV Alumni Center.
Tessa Kavanaugh, a senior AREC major, received an honorable mention for outstanding senior student, and recent graduate Mason Grahame received an award for Outstanding Student in a 4 year program.
Initially Kavanuagh planned to be a business major, but she wanted to incorporate her interest in the environment and natural resources into her school career. Her adviser recommended she look into AREC.
“She explained to me that I could tie in my passion for the environment, natural resources and land use with my interest in business and economics all within one major, and I knew it would be the perfect fit for me,” said Kavanaugh.
She joined the major during her sophomore year in spring 2015. Since then, Kavanaugh has been a part of the AREC advisory board and has also been an AGNR ambassador.
“Receiving an honorable mention really makes me feel like a valuable member of the community and that all my hard work and dedication to my major and my college are being recognized,” said Kavanaugh.
She currently interns as an environmental crimes law clerk at the U.S Department Of Justice. After graduation, Kavanaugh plans to work as a paralegal before deciding whether or not to go to law school.
Grahame came to the university as an AREC major, knowing that he wanted to be involved in agriculture, but in a less traditional sense.
“Having grown up on a farm I felt I knew a good bit about how to farm, but I was intrigued with the economics behind commodities, and agriculture as a whole,” said Grahame. His family farms brangus cattle, grain, melons and vegetables.
At AREC, Grahame has been a part of the advisory board, worked at the front office and now works with Paul Goeringer, a legal specialist.
“I would like to thank the faculty, staff, and professors that helped my along my way; also my parents for being awesome,” said Grahame. “There was not one professor that was not willing to help me succeed, and I owe a great amount of my success to those people. ”
In the fall, Grahame will be heading to Texas A&M to pursue a master’s degree in agribusiness.
“I think, as someone that wants to remain in agriculture, it is vital that there are individuals that can convey the economics of agriculture to the average farmer, allowing them to focus on what they are good at, yet providing an understanding of how their operating fits into a broader market,” said Grahame.
