2021 IMEF Scholarship Winners: Three Recipients Named at K-State’s Milling Science Club Meeting in Spring
Manhattan, KS — In late April, at Kansas State University’s (KSU) final Milling Science Club meeting of the 2020-21 academic year, the International Milling Education Foundation (IMEF) awarded its annual scholarships to four KSU students.
Grain Millers/Christian F. Kongsore Scholarship
Conner McDonald, a KSU junior, for the second consecutive year received the Christian F. Kongsore-Grain Millers, Inc. Scholarship. He earned $5,000 toward tuition and expenses for the 2021-22 academic year.
McDonald is majoring in milling science and management and will serve as secretary of the Milling Science Club for his final year at KSU.
Previously, he was a co-event coordinator for the Milling Science Club and planned the holiday flour sale and a flour sale donation for local citizens and Cats Cupboard.
A native of Rome, GA, McDonald transferred to KSU after completing one year at a small agricultural school in southern Georgia.
He has completed three summer internships: Grain Craft, Rome; Bunge Milling, Atchison, KS; and Ardent Mills, Ogden, UT.
McDonald grew up working at his parents’ strawberry farm, where he says he learned leadership and time management skills.
He is expected to graduate from KSU in May 2022.
Andrew Kent, a senior in the milling science and management program, received the Christian F. Kongsore-Grain Millers, Inc. Scholarship. The $4,000 scholarship will go toward Kent’s 2021-22 academic year.
Kent has interned with Mennel Milling in Roanoke, VA and ADM’s central lab in Lenexa, KS.
In 2020, he was a co-event coordinator for the Milling Science Club, helping to plan events and meetings. He also participated in week-long mission trips to Atlanta, GA and Panama. Kent is expected to graduate from KSU in May 2022.
The Christian F. Kongsore Scholarship was established in 2013 by a donation from Grain Millers, Inc., Eden Prairie, MN, which was co-founded by Kongsore. Born in Oslo, Norway in 1927, Kongsore worked at his family’s flour mill as a second-generation miller and later moved to the United States. He graduated in 1954 from KSU with a degree in milling science. He dedicated his life to the milling profession and its people.
Distinguished Professors’ Scholarship
Brenden Meek is the IMEF Distinguished Professors’ Scholarship recipient. He received $4,000 toward tuition expenses for the 2021-22 academic year at KSU.
Meek is a junior majoring in milling science and management with a minor in agribusiness.
He has completed summer internships with Miller Milling in Saginaw, TX and Bunge Milling in Danville, IL.
In 2021, Meek was a member of the Milling Science Club’s flour sales team and a Kansas State College of Agriculture ambassador.
He was elected as head of the flour sales team for the 2021-22 academic year.
Meek grew up on a livestock farm in Spring Hill, KS, where he had his own herd of beef cattle and helped manage his family’s larger herd.
He is expected to graduate in December 2022.
The Distinguished Professors’ Scholarship recognizes milling science professors who have been influential to the milling industry and the International Association of Operative Millers (IAOM), including Dale Eustace, Gene Farrell, Arlin Ward, John Wingfield, and John Shellenberger.
IMEF Scholarship Program for Professionals
Syed Jonaid Sajid was selected for the IMEF Scholarship Program for Professionals. The scholarship provided tuition for Sajid to enroll in the IAOM-KSU Flour & Dough Analysis course, which was held Aug. 10-12 at the KSU campus in Manhattan.
Sajid joined Atyab Foodtech (Oman Flour Mills) as a lab technologist in 2012. He has since been promoted to the position of quality head for flour and feed. Before the course, he said that he was hoping to learn more about analysis from university and industry experts. He also described it as an opportunity for networking and for helping to develop new products.
IMEF Scholarship Program
The IMEF Scholarship program was established to support the education of milling science students. IMEF is the philanthropic partner of IAOM. IMEF solicits, manages, and distributes funds for educational programs related to the grain milling industry.
Established in 2003, the foundation’s mission is to strengthen the grain milling industry through educational programs, professional development efforts, and research projects.
Priorities include:
• Development of educational programs and training materials.
• Scholarships for KSU students and professionals.
• Promoting the industry Career Kit to attract future, more-diverse generations to the profession.
• Providing grants for professional management speakers to address IAOM conferences worldwide.
• Updating educational and training resources.
• Translating educational materials into other languages.