Scholarships

Andie Welsh is the daughter of Matt and Kelli Welsh of Savage Leigh Holsteins in Knoxville and is the recipient of a $1000 scholarship. She is a senior at Brunswick High School where she is active in FFA, various sports and is also a member of the National Honor Society. A 9-year member of the Middletown Valley 4-H Dairy Club, Andie has been active showing cows at local, state and national levels and has also competed in dairy bowl. Andie is very active on the home farm and is in charge of the dairy chores in the show barn. Additionally she will feed calves and help with the milking as needed. Andie says this scholarship will help with her plans to attend a two or four-year college majoring in Animal Science. She hopes to gain more knowledge in this field and eventually find a job within the Ag industry.

Paige Miller is the daughter of Brad and Sarah Miller of Kennedyville and is a recipient of a $1000 scholarship. She is currently a senior at Kent County High School.  here, Paige has been very active in sports serving as the captain of both the Varsity Softball and Soccer teams. She is a member of the National Honor Society, National Art Honor Society and also FFA. In FFA she has held the officer positions of Secretary and Vice President. Paige has been in two different 4-H clubs over the years, holding several officer positions and has been showing Brown Swiss cattle since she was 10 and loves the breed. The past 3 years she has exhibited the Grand Champion Brown Swiss at the Maryland State Fair 4-H Show and in 2024 she also won her class in showmanship. At the home farm, the family sold the milking cows and became mainly a grain operation in 2011 while also maintaining a herd of beef cows and dairy heifers. Paige plays a major role in taking care of the animals and she also helps fix equipment and helps with wheat harvest, often running the grain cart. Paige is very thankful to grow up in the Ag industry and enjoys being an advocate for agriculture. One way she does this is through the FFA program. Every spring the school hosts an Ag Day where they teach elementary school children about agriculture. Paige plans to attend a 4-year college majoring in Ag Business. Her goal is to become a seed salesperson while continuing to be involved with the family farm.

Shea Cencula is the daughter of Joe and Hope Cencula of Mt. Airy, and is the winner of the $500 Mid-Maryland Dairy Vets Scholarship. Shea is a junior at Purdue University, as part of a distance learning program, majoring in Veterinary Nursing. She is currently working as a Veterinary Assistant to fulfill clinical requirements for her degree. A graduate of Linganore High School, Shea began her participation in 4-H with a dairy goat project and then she decided to add dairy cattle and has leased cows and heifers of multiple breeds for the past 5 years. Once adding the dairy cattle project, she became even more involved serving as the Frederick County Dairy Princess and the Maryland Jersey Queen. Just last year, Shea decided to give dairy judging a try for the very first time and she had great success!  She placed 8th in the Maryland State contest and then went on to compete as an individual in the North American International Livestock Expo in Louisville, placing 6th in Jerseys, 10th in Holsteins. Additionally, Shea was a member of the National Honor Society and the Linganore FFA chapter. In FFA she served as the chapter President and received the American FFA Degree, the highest honor for an FFA member.