By Courtney Girgis, Future Ag Communicators Co-Chair
Do you know any undergraduate college students pursuing careers in agricultural communications? Maybe a current or former intern, a student you met last time you were at your alma mater, or the child of a neighbor’s friend? We want them all to apply for the 2026 Ag Communicators Network Scholarship Program. Applications are due April 15.
The Future Ag Communicators Committee will select three finalists to interview at Ag Media Summit for the top award, the Dr. James Evans Scholarship in the amount of $3,000. The two runner-ups will each receive the Past Presidents’ Scholarship of $2,000.
All three students will receive travel stipends of up to $1,000 to assist with expenses related to attending AMS, which will be held July 19-21 in St. Louis, Missouri.
Who Should Apply?
Applicants must be current members of ACT to fully participate in AMS student programming. Students who do not have active ACT chapters at their colleges or universities may join the National ACT at any time by emailing their interest to nact.treasurer@gmail.com and nact.president@gmail.com and paying the $25 membership dues.
Applicants must be enrolled as undergraduate university/college students at the time of their application. Most will be agricultural communications majors, but this is not a requirement. The key is commitment to agricultural communications.
Students who previously received the Past Presidents’ Scholarship may apply again for the chance to earn the Dr. James Evans Scholarship. Previous Dr. James Evans Scholarship winners may not apply again.
What We’re Looking For
Finalists will be selected based on the following:
- Ag communications internships and career-related experiences (25%)
- Writing skills, demonstrated through a sample (25%)
- Leadership activities (15%)
- Academic achievements (13%)
- Reference recommendation (12%)
- General passion/fit for ag communications (5%)
- General neatness and completion of application (5%)
Find the Application
The 2026 ACN Scholarship Application Form and 2026 ACN Scholarship Reference Form are available at www.agcommnetwork.com/scholarships.
Applications are due on or before Wednesday, April 15. See scholarship form for details on how to submit.
Thank you to Lyle Orwig, ACN member, for his endowment, which funds the Dr. James Evans Scholarship. Thank you also to the ACN Professional Improvement Foundation (and to all who donate to PIF) for funding the Past Presidents’ Scholarships and the travel stipends.
Thank you to all of you for sharing this opportunity with students.
For more information, contact Courtney Girgis, cllgirgis@gmail.com, or Chelsea Dinterman, chelsea.dinterman@agriculture.com, ACN Future Ag Communicators Committee co-chairs.
–Girgis is the owner of Rooted Communications.