Kutztown Fair Scholarships

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

The recipients have a proven record of leadership, community service, and participation in the Kutztown Fair. These outstanding young people will continue their education with the assistance of a scholarship presented by the Kutztown Fair Association. Scholarship funds are made available from proceeds provided by the Kutztown Fair Association and the Ag Benefit Auction.

Meet Our Previous Year Scholarships Recipients

2021 Kutztown Fair Scholarship Winners

 

elissa kunkel posing with her pig

Ellissa Kunkel, is the daughter of Ethan and Jennifer Kunkel, Kempton, PA.  She is a 2020 graduate of Kutztown Area High School and is in her second year at the Pennsylvania College of Technology, majoring in Welding Technology.  Ellissa grew up and worked on the 200-acre family dairy farm near Kempton.

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Over the past years, she has been involved in many different activities.  Some of them are soccer, softball, basketball, field hockey, dance, twirling, Girl Scouts, and swim team.  Her resume continues with her volunteerism with the Kempton Fire Company, New Bethel Church Youth projects, Kempton Fair, and the Kutztown FFA, where she has earned the Keystone Degree.  Her involvement with the Berks County 4-H Club program includes membership in the Northern Berks Dairy Club (9 years), Berks Beef Club (3 years), Dairy Beef Club (3 years), and the Swine Club (1 year).  Membership in the Berks Junior Holstein Club, Holstein Association USA, Berks Co. Dairy Bowl Team, and having been Berks Little Miss Dairy Princess in 2008 have also been part of her life’s interests.  Amazingly, she has also found time to work at C.J. Hummel’s Restaurant, Mt. Laurel Chicken Farm, and Rabenold’s Fabrication & Welding.  Over the years, Ellissa has exhibited dairy cows, dairy beef steers, beef steers, and hogs at the Kutztown Fair.  She has also helped with fair set up, clean up activities, cake auction, clerked for fruit & nut judging, livestock sale bookwork, and made some scholarship auction donations.  As you can see, she is a very busy young lady and we are quite confident that she will be very successful at her welding/metal fabricating career.

 

Kaylen Leiby

Kaylen Leiby, daughter of Kevin and Melissa Leiby, Kutztown, is a 2020 graduate of Kutztown Area High School.  She is currently a sophomore at Lebanon Valley College, majoring in Speech-Language Pathology.  Her involvement in the community and Kutztown Fair is extensive and very admirable.

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During high school Kaylen was a member of National Honor Society (3 years), Band & Chorus (4 years), National History Day (4 years) and made it to the national competition 3 times.  She was also a peer tutor, participated in the veterans’ car wash and Wreaths Across America.  She has also volunteered at Friends, Inc. and Opportunity House.  At Lebanon Valley College she is a member of the Speech, Language, Hearing Association, the Sign Language Club, and is a Campus Writing Tutor.  Other areas of volunteerism include Zion Maxatawny Church Youth Group and Kutztown Grange.  Kaylen was also a 6-year member of the Kutztown 4-H Sew n Sews Club, participating in the regional and state textile revues.  Her involvement in the Kutztown Fair began at an early age.  At the age of 5 years and beyond, she entered the coloring contest and the Crazy Cubes vegetable decorating contest.  As she got older, she entered the baking and the photography contests.  Later she entered dresses, skirts, needlecraft, and knitted items.  One year a jacket she made won Best of Show.  During fair week we can find her helping with Baked Goods judging, volunteering at food stands, helping with wristbands at the main gate, and other assorted jobs.  The love of helping at the Kutztown Fair has been passed on to her from her grandparents’ and parents’ extensive involvement with the fair.  This past year’s entries were a knitted hat and a knitted scarf.  Given all of her past achievements, Kaylen’s future as a speech/language pathologist is bound to be great.
Mackenzie Blatt posing with her award winning cow

Mackenzie Blatt, daughter of Brian and Susan Blatt, Kutztown, is a student at Lehigh Carbon Community College.  Her major is Health Science.  She grew up living and working on a small farm in Greenwich Township.  She is a graduate of Kutztown Area High School.

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Mackenzie has been an active member of the Northern Berks 4-H Dairy Club for 10 years, the Berks County 4-H Goat Club and the Kiddoes Dairy Goat Club for 8 years, the Rocky Mountain Riders 4-H Horse Club for 3 years, and the Kutztown FFA Chapter.  Some of her leadership activities include being president of both the PA Jr. Guernsey Breeder’s Assn. and the National Guernsey Youth Assn., and captain of several dairy quiz bowl teams.  At Kutztown High School Mackenzie participated in LEO Club (president), the Show Choir, the Jazz Choir, both the Marching and Concert Bands, and the Yearbook Club.  Like her sister Ayla, she has also been honored to serve as the Allentown Fair Queen. In addition, Mackenzie has participated in the Dairy Ambassador program and was a volunteer helper at Friends, inc., a local nursing home, Kutztown Folk Festival, and the Miller Keystone Blood Bank.   To help finance her higher education, she has worked at C.J. Hummel’s Restaurant, East Penn Mfg. Medical Department, and Grim’s Family Orchard.  Some of Mackenzie’s past Kutztown Fair entries include dairy cows, market and dairy goats, and dairy beef.  We see a very bright future for Mackenzie in the Health Sciences.

 

 

 

 

 

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.
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