Scholarships

Our scholarships, up to $1,000, are available to anyone with a connection to the IMPPA. The number of scholarships given each year is at the discretion of the board of directors. This scholarship is not limited to meat science and can be used in any accredited school for further education. The scholarship recipient will be announced at the IMPPA Convention along with their sponsor plant. These scholarships are made possible by the generous contributions of our members and suppliers.

2024 IMPPA Scholarship Winners

Kylie Bedel Scholarship Award $1,000.00
Sponsor Plant: Dewig Meats

Kylie is pursuing a dual major of agribusiness management and animal science Agribusiness from Purdue University. After graduating with her bachelor’s degrees, she would like to continue her education with graduate studies to complete a master’s degree in agriculture economics. Upon finishing her studies, she would like to work for a company, university, or government agency that is making a difference within agriculture. She would like to raise a family, continue her herd of Boer goats and feeder cattle. One day she would like to return to Vanderburgh County and give back to the 4-H program that has made her the person she is today.

Kylie works for Pappa Bear's Catering, within Dewig Meat's facility. Also, as a livestock producer herself, her family utilizes Dewig Meats as their custom processing facility for their freezer beef and hogs.

McKenna Wilson Sponsorship Award $1,000.00
Sponsor Plant: Hanford Packaging

McKenna is pursuing animal sciences and agricultural economics from Purdue University.

McKenna previously interned at Hanford Packing where she assisted on the cut table, wrapping, grinding, tenderizing, mixing sausage, slaughter floor, and retail help. She also assisted in brainstorming and writing blog posts for their up-and-coming blog page. McKenna was able to attend the 2023 IMPPA Convention in 2023. She felt this was an eye-opening experience as it showed her there are many different paths she could venture down that are still connected to the butcher shop.

McKenna is currently a student employee at the Purdue Boilermaker Butcher Block in West Lafayette. At Purdue she is also in charge of the cleaning and sanitation process at the end of the day. She also assists with training new employees.

Jada Smith Sponsorship Award $750.00
Sponsor Plant: This Old Farm

Jada is pursuing a degree in elementary education from Purdue University. She has served as a cadet teacher where she worked with the teacher grading, helping struggling kids, teaching lessons, and completing any other tasks that would help the class. Being in the classroom and being with the kids made her realize how passionate she is about kids and helping them become their best possible selves.

Jada has worked within her family business, This Old Farm, since 2016. She has held many positions within the company including meatpacking, sanitation, and customer service. She assists farmers and their customers in the right direction when submitting their cutting instructions. Recently she has also continued her working experience at This Old Butcher Shoppe where one of her job duties included taking a lead in paperwork to assist the back-end operations. Jada’s mother, Jessica Roosa, has been a member of IMPPA for many years, and currently resides as IMPPA’s Vice-President. The Roosa family continues to help others who are starting meat packing facilities, or those who just want to further their knowledge in the field.

Julia Mitton Sponsorship Award $750.00
Sponsor Plant: Robert Reiser & Co. Inc.

Julia plans to attend the University of Rhode Island to obtain an undergraduate in environmental economics and a minor in sustainability, and hopefully obtain a master’s at Northeastern in environmental engineering or environmental science and policy. Her goal is to work at a renewable energy company and contribute to limiting and hopefully reversing climate change.

Julia’s IMPAA connection is through her father, who works for Robert Reiser Co., a company that creates packaging equipment for processed food. Her father is the manager of the shop that builds these machines.

Christopher Vanco Scholarship Award $750.00
Sponsor Plant: Robert Reiser & Co. Inc.

Christopher is pursuing a master’s in accounting from University of Scranton. His desire to attend college stems from his strong passion for contributing positively to society, as well as becoming the best version of himself. The University of Scranton has a strong emphasis on Jesuit values, which he feels will allow him to be educated wholly, and not just in the classroom. He has chosen Accounting because he has an affinity for numbers and hopes to use this skill to benefit others.

Christopher’s father is a Sales Representative at Reiser. His father has been a loyal employee of the company for almost 15 years.

Elaina O’Neill Scholarship Award $750.00
Sponsor Plant: Manley Meats, Decatur, Indiana

Elaina is pursuing a biblical counseling degree from Appalachian Bible College. She feels that many people struggle in everyday life, and by studying counseling she will have more tools to be able to help these people as well as serve in her church.

Elaina has worked at Manley Meats since 2018 during the summers and on breaks from school. She has worked in retail as well as making different food products behind the scenes. Her mother has also worked at Manley’s full time since 2015.

2023 IMPPA Scholarship Winners

Scholarship Award $1,000.00
Sponsor Plant: Manley Meats, Decatur, Indiana

Garrett Manley grew up in the meat business. He has worked at his family’s business, Manley Meats, after school and during the summers. Garrett participated in wresting while in high school where he received many awards. He has also been recognized for the North Star Award for performing CPR. Garrett is a 21st Century Scholar at Indiana University and is studying Biology. Garrett would like to be an endocrinologist to help people with diabetes.

Scholarship Award $500.00
Sponsor Plant: Manley Meats, Decatur, Indiana

Courtney Fox is a 22-year-old with connections to Manley Meats, where her mother has worked since 1999. She graduated from South Adams High School in May of 2019, where she was involved in softball and FFA. During her first years at Purdue, she has been part of the Purdue Collegiate Cattlemen Association and the Purdue Navigators. After graduation Courtney plans to work as a Sales Customer Support Tech. She is looking forward to building relationships with customers.

Scholarship Award: $500.00
Sponsor Plant: Sander Processing, Celestine, Indiana

Amber is a 21-year-old who works at her family processing plant, Sander Processing, in Celestine, Indiana. In High School Amber stayed busy with BETA Club, Spanish Club, Family & Consumer Science, and Softball. She graduated with academic honors. You can find Amber volunteering at church, home, and community. Amber’s goals include completing a degree in finance that will ensure the success of her growing family business for generations to come.

Scholarship Award $500.00
Sponsor Plant: Fisher Meats, Muncie, Indiana

Leah is 20-years-old and has been employed at Fisher Meats since 2020. She helps supervise the office and works at the retail counter. While in High School she was the captain of the high school cheerleaders. She received the Leadership Award during her senior year. Leah’s passion is teaching, and she enjoys teaching religious education at her church. As a sophomore at Ball State, she intends to finish her degree to become a neuropsychologist. She plans on using her degree to teach others. She wants to be able to give to others the way God has given to her.

2022 IMPPA Scholarship Winners

Sponsor Plant: Dewig Meats, Haubstadt, IN

My name is Sarah Jade Dewig and I am 19 years old. I am part of the 4th generation of Dewigs at Dewig Meats in Haubstadt, IN, where I was born and raised. As I was growing up, I spent a lot of time running around our plant, playing in the creek out back, and sitting with my mom and grandma doings arts and crafts at their desks. I grew up going to the IMPPA conventions, which I always called “meat conventions”, and thought of my family as celebrities whenever they won awards. The older I got the more I started to appreciate the work and dedication I saw my whole family putting into this business and I knew I wanted to be a part of that.

I graduated from Gibson Southern High School in 2020 with an Honors Diploma. Trying to finish my senior year while helping my family navigate the chaos of the Covid-19 pandemic was not easy. However, seeing how much our community needed and supported us during that time made me proud to be a part of the Dewig family and the Meat Packing Industry as a whole. I was even more inspired than before to further my education and help grow our business. I am currently in my second year of college studying Business and Visual Design at Ivy Tech Community College in Evansville, IN while also working and learning the business firsthand.

In the future I hope to run the business alongside my brothers, Austin and Logan, my parents, aunt, uncle, cousins, and grandparents
-Jade Dewig

Jade has been a much welcome addition to our office and retail staff. Her current duties assisting her Mother, Karen in retail sales, inventory, social media, accounts receivable, accounts payable, customer service among many other activities has been much appreciated. We will be glad for Jade to finish her education and come back to work full time in our family owned and operated business where I’m sure she will succeed.
-Darla Kiesel

Sponsor Plant: Gettinger Meats, Rushville, IN

My name is Taylor Pinkerton and I am currently a sophomore at Purdue University in West Lafayette. I am majoring in Agriculture Sales and Marketing and am planning on pursuing a career within the agriculture industry following graduation. I am so grateful for the experiences I gained working with Gettinger Family Custom Meats this past summer and am extremely thankful for the IMPPA’s scholarship to continue my education.
-Taylor Pinkerton

It’s great to see young people wanting to pursue a career in agriculture and to have interest in the meat industry. Taylor is a great young lady and will be successful at whatever career she pursues after college. It’s wonderful to see the IMPPA helping out and getting more people involved in the meat industry.
-Sam Gettinger

2021 IMPPA Scholarship Winners

Sponsor Plant: The Butcher Block, Lowell, IN

Thank you so much to IMPPA and their sponsors for this scholarship and the amazing opportunity! I am currently a sophomore at Purdue University Northwest in Hammond studying Elementary Education with a specialization in reading. This scholarship will help me further my education at Purdue and allow me to take more classes than anticipated so I can graduate sooner! This scholarship will also help me fund my participation in PNW's chapter of The National Society of Leadership and Success (NSLS) this semester.

Sponsor Plant: Merkley & Sons, Jasper, IN

As a recipient of the Indiana Meat Packers Scholarship I wanted to thank you for helping make my college education possible. Your generous gift of $1,000 will help pay for my tuition fees and book rental for the upcoming academic year. Your generosity will help make my dream of becoming a veterinarian possible.

I would like to share with you a little more about myself. I grew up in Jasper Indiana where I first got my animal experience with all my pets I owned. I became a part of 4-H, where I was a 10-year member, showing rabbits and taking projects like basket weaving. Now I am at Purdue majoring in Animal Sciences with a concentration in Pre-Veterinary Medicine. Purdue offers a great variety of programs to students that I am able to take advantage of through scholarships like this one. I plan to continue my education by applying to vet school to obtain a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree, then to open my own mixed animal practice in Southern Indiana.

Once again, I want to thank you for your scholarship donation. Your generosity has made it possible for me to receive a quality education, participate in clubs and leadership opportunities, and make lifelong connections. I understand that without the generous efforts from people like you, a college education could not be made possible for students like myself.

Sponsor Plant: Fisher Packing, Portland, IN
Hello Indiana Meat Packers! I cannot thank the Indiana Meat Packers enough for their generosity. This scholarship will help me tremendously in my pursuit of a good education. I am majoring in Computer Science at Purdue University right now, and it has already proven to be difficult. Student debt is no joke these days, and it is a serious financial obstacle that many have to face. This scholarship will allow me to focus more on becoming the best computer scientist I can be and less on my future financial burdens. I again would like to extend my appreciation for the Indiana Meat Packers! It means a lot to me! God bless!

2020 IMPPA Scholarship Winners