The future looks bright for this year’s recipients of the scholarships from The Land.

Ellen Nere and Alan Thompson, both 2009 graduates, will each receive $250 toward their college education.

Nere, from Renville County West High School, plans to attend North Dakota State University in Fargo, N.D., to major in animal science and microbiology. Thompson, from St. Peter High School, will attend Augustana College in Sioux Falls, S.D., to major in English and journalism.

Ellen Nere

Nere, the youngest of three children of Brad and Darlene Nere of Danube, is the only one to follow in her father’s agrarian footsteps. “My brother (Chris) works for a chiropractor and my sister (Beth) is a dietitian,” Nere said. “My dad was hoping one of us would go into agriculture, but he didn’t want to push any of us. He encouraged us, but didn’t push ... this is pretty much my own wanting.”

The Nere family raises about 300 dairy steers and 30 beef cows, in an operation with Brad’s brother’s family. “It works pretty good that we only have to do chores every other day,” Ellen said.

Ellen has five of those beef cows through a loan program for FFA members and 4-H’ers wanting to start their own beef herds.

Ellen’s dad also raises about 1,100 acres of corn, soybeans, peas and wheat.

Her enjoyment of working with the animals — she has shown cattle, chickens and rabbits in 4-H — has steered her to career aspirations. After completing four years at NDSU, she hopes to enter the University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine.

“Becoming a veterinarian will give me the opportunity to use my leadership skills and sound knowledge to educate individuals concerning the relationship between animals and their environment. It will also allow me to ensure the safety of food consumption by maintaining animal health,” Nere wrote in her essay as part of the scholarship application.

She hopes to help fill the demand by becoming a large animal veterinarian in a rural area, preferably in the Midwest.

If that whole animal science-veterinarian thing doesn’t work out, Nere may have a future in horticulture.

Last year the Renville County West FFA Chapter bought a greenhouse from a local operator looking to get out of the business. “Ellen was one of the leaders of the whole project,” said Chapter Adviser Darrell Refsland.

The greenhouse opened this year on April 22 and will stay open until around June 22. “I try to help out more, help the younger ones who aren’t familiar with working in the greenhouse,” she said. “I really enjoy working in the greenhouse.”

Nere also works at the Renville Farmers Co-op gas station, as well as selling sweet corn for Schmoll’s Sweet Corn of Olivia.

Alan Thompson

Thanks to Alan Thompson, his fellow St. Peter High School students again have a place to get their news.

St. Peter High School’s student newspaper ceased publication a few years back, and Thompson felt that was wrong.

St. Peter’s seniors each have to do a senior project, and Thompson thought it was time to revive the school newspaper as part of his project.

Thompson, the middle child of Lee and Kim Thompson of Nicollet, doesn’t shy away from the news that journalism is a dying industry. “Journalism is changing, it’s not dying.”

As established newspapers battle with their existence and question what to do with new media, mainly the internet, Thompson combined the two and “published” The Scribbler exclusively online.

“I’ve received a lot of positive feedback,” he said, admitting that “it might be better read and more well-received if we actually printed paper copies” to be available.

Thompson wants to build on his dairy farm background in the journalism field.

“I would love the opportunity to work in the field of agriculture as a journalist or editor of a newspaper or magazine because I appreciate how my dairy farm background has strengthened my work ethic and motivation to promote the industry of agriculture and I know it will help my career as a journalist,” he wrote in his application essay.

In choosing his double major of English and journalism, he figured he would play to his strengths. “I figured that I would major in something that I’m good in — English — and something that I enjoy — journalism.”

Thompson worked the last two summers detassling corn for Anderson Seeds, and is currently working at Gustavus Adolphus College Dining Service.

Thompson’s dairy background also shows in his 4-H involvement as he will once again be showing dairy animals this summer. This summer also marks the end of his one-year term as state 4-H ambassador.

Among his many other school and civic activities, Thompson qualified for the state speech meet in the Discussion category.

Even though he showed promise with the spoken word, it still comes down to the written word for Thompson, as he started his essay with a Leo Rosten quote: “A writer writes not because he is educated but because he is driven by the need to communicate.”