Kutztown Fair Scholarships

Ayla Blatt, daughter of Brian and Susan Blatt, Kutztown, is a fourth-year student at Penn State University. Her major is Animal Science. She grew up living and working on a small farm in Greenwich Township. She is a graduate of Kutztown Area High School.

CLICK TO READ MORE

At Kutztown she was very active in the FFA program, having served as a secretary, president, and a state officer candidate. Her involvement in school agriculture programs continues at Penn State with participation in the Agronomy Club, the PA Governors School for Excellence in Agricultural Sciences, and the Dairy Science Club. Ayla has been an active member of the Northern Berks 4-H Dairy Club, the Berks County 4-H Goat Club, the Rocky Mountain Riders 4-H Horse Club, PA Guernsey Youth Assn., PA Junior Holstein Assn., and the PA Young Farmers Association 2017 National Contestant. In addition, she served as team captain of the Berks County Dairy Bowl Team for several years and for six years participated on the Dairy Judging Team. Some of her volunteer activities include Be My Eyes Volunteer, Lil’ Farm Hands Volunteer, Targeting Excellence Foundation Volunteer. Ayla has also been honored to serve as the 2019 Allentown Fair Queen, the Reading Fair 2018 Alternate Queen, the 2019 Alternate Dairy Princess at Penn State, and the 2020 National Guernsey Youth Assn. Princess. To help finance her higher education, she works at CJ Hummel’s Restaurant and the Penn State Dining Hall. Some of Ayla’s past Kutztown Fair entries were market and dairy goats, dairy beef, table top displays, and dairy cows. With a resume’ like this we see a very bright future for Ayla.

Ethan Sanner, is the son of Kenneth and Denise Sanner, Kutztown, PA. He is a 2020 graduate of Kutztown Area High School and is a freshman at Penn State University – Berks Campus, majoring in Wildlife and Fishery Science.

CLICK TO READ MORE

Ethan grew up and worked on the family farm in Greenwich Township. Since 8^th grade, Ethan has been active in the Kutztown FFA and has served in the office of reporter, secretary, and president. In addition, he has been a member of Boy Scouts since 5^th grade and served in many different offices over the years. During high school he played on the volleyball team and the soccer team and served as captain for both his senior year. Ethan is also experienced at beekeeping by helping his uncle with many chores around the bee hives. Since the age of 8, Ethan has helped his father each year bring potatoes, tomatoes, pumpkins, hay samples, and other entries to the fair. Over the years he has also exhibited fruits, vegetables, hay, and trifold display boards. His participation in preparing landscape and educational displays has helped Kutztown FFA win quite a few blue ribbons. Given Ethan’s work ethic and impressive background, we are sure that he will go on to do many good things in the future. We wish him the best experiences and education at Penn State.

Haley Weidman, daughter of Tami Weidman, Oley, is a first- year student at Penn State University, Berks Campus. Her major is Animal Science.

CLICK TO READ MORE

Even though Haley lives in mid-town Oley, she is quite involved in Berks County agriculture. She is a five-year member of the Berks County 4-H Sheep Club, serving as News Reporter, and keeps a small flock of Corriedale sheep at a nearby friend’s farm. For a year and a half, Haley has also been helping with the milking of 50 Ayrshire cows at the Wholesome Dairy in Earl Township. Helping at the Oley Fair in another agriculture connection for Haley. She is a 4-year member of the Oley Valley FFA and has served as chapter historian and secretary. Some of her volunteer work has been to help cleaning up graveyards for the county Graveyard Preservation Assn., helping with the Oley Valley Food Pantry, helping at her church picnics and suppers, and the Peach Festival. Haley is the 2020 Berks County Alternate Sheep and Wool Queen. Her fair project over the past 4 years has been the exhibiting of her Corriedale sheep, including participation in the Blocking & Grooming competition. She enjoys interacting with fair visitors and answering their questions. We wish her much success in her education and future endeavors.

2017 Kutztown Fair Scholarship Winners

MEET ZAREN KERPER

Zaren Kerper, daughter of Richard and Rachel Kerper, Fleetwood, is a first-year student at Kutztown University. Her major is English. From an early age, Zaren has helped work on the family farm. She is a graduate of Oley Valley High School, where she was a member of the Oley FFA for 4 years. Besides having served as a vice president and a president of the organization, she has been very active in many FFA activities. Some of her other high school activities include Color Guard, Drama Club, Chorus, PAWS Squad, and the National Honor Society. Over the years, Zaren has been a member of every one of the Berks County 4-H Livestock Clubs. Her involvement in 4-H includes membership in the Berks Sheep Club, Berks Rabbit & Cavy Club, Berks Goat Club, Northern Berks Dairy Club, Berks Beef Club, Berks Swine Club, Berks Livestock Judging Club, and the Berks Dairy Beef Club. Zaren also has a sheep project that includes Lincoln Sheep, which are quite rare in our part of the country. Zaren has been a very active volunteer in groups such as the local food bank, the Oley Library, Berks Graveyard Preservation Association, High School Teacher Aide, and the Oley Pot Pie Dinners. In her application essay, Zaren expressed her great enthusiasm for the Kutztown Fair and how it has helped her develop a passion for agriculture. After graduating, Zaren hopes to become an Agriculture Journalist. As a college freshman, she has already written several articles that have appeared in local newspapers. So, we see Zaren as being well on her way to becoming a valuable part of our agricultural community.

MEET COLLIN KAMP

Collin Kamp, son of Chad and Alice Kamp, Shoemakersville, is a first-year student at Hutchinson Community College in Hutchinson, Kansas. He is majoring in a two-year program in Agricultural Diesel Mechanics. Collin’s family lives on a livestock farm near Adams Hotel and he is a 2017 graduate of Hamburg High School. As a member of 4 different Berks County 4-H Clubs, Collin has served in several different offices. He has been a member of the 4-H Swine Club for 10 years and served as a vice president, treasurer, news reporter, and a teen leader. As a 7-year member of the Goat Club, he again served as vice president, treasurer, and a teen leader. Collin was a 6-year member of the Beef Club and a 3-year member of the Dairy Beef Club, and again helped as a teen leader. Some of his other organization memberships include Zion UCC Church, National Junior Swine Association, Junior Angus Association, and the Berks County Cattlemen’s’ Association. Volunteerism is also an important part of Collin’s life. He has been a 4-H camp counsellor, helped with Habitat for Humanity, helped prepare Little League baseball fields, helped clean up Perry Recreation Park, and went on a church mission trip to Maine. In 2016, Collin earned 3rd place in the Penn State Skillathon Contest and went on to the national contest in Louisville, Kentucky. He also served on the Berks County 4-H Development Board and was a delegate to the 2016 National Youth Agri-business Summit in Washington, D.C. This past year, Collin exhibited 2 Dairy Beef, 2 Goats, 2 Market Hogs, and 2 Breeding Hogs at our fair. In his scholarship application essay, Collin thanked the Kutztown Fair for providing him with opportunities for growth. After he is finished with his academic pursuits, he plans to again be part of the Kutztown Fair and we look forward to him returning and helping area farmers repair their farm machinery.

Criteria for Scholarship Applications

1. Eligibility is open to any youth who has been a Kutztown Fair participant for at least 2 consecutive years
(including the current year).

2. The applicant must have graduated from high school and be currently enrolled in a school of higher learning as of August 1 of the current year.

3. Scholarship amounts may vary from year to year depending on available funds.

4. Selection will be based upon the following criteria:
a. Citizenship
b. Showmanship and ethics
c. Academic performance
d. Fair participation
e. Volunteer fair activities
f. Other activities

(Note: See invitation to volunteer projects on bottom of page.)

5. The scholarship money must be used to help finance a two to four year higher education program.

6. The applicant must complete the application and write a one-page essay including information such as their
background, future plans, past and current activities, and planned use of scholarship funds.

7. The application deadline will be Sept. 30.

Scholarship applicants are encouraged to volunteer to assist with the fair activities and functions. We need announcers, show clerks, and people to help keep the barns and grounds clean. Contact an Ag Committee member to volunteer for any of these jobs.

Apply by downloading this form, and mail it to P.O Box 177 Kutztown, PA 19530.

Taking too long?

Reload document

Open in new tab

Download [6.26 KB]

Kutztown Fair Scholarships

The Kutztown Fair Association is proud to introduce the winners of the Kutztown Fair Youth Scholarships.

Meet Our Previous Year Scholarships Recipients

Criteria for Scholarship Applications

Apply by downloading this form, and mail it to P.O Box 177 Kutztown, PA 19530.

Follow Kutztown Fair on Instagram