Britney Zondlak of Byron Center, Mich., was chosen as the 2013-2014 recipient of the Russel Erickson Scholarship from the Michigan Dairy Memorial and Scholarship Foundation Inc. The $5,000 scholarship is named after Russel Erickson, Michigan State University (MSU) professor emeritus in the Department of Animal Science, and is awarded to a student whose career aspirations include working on or with dairy farms.
An MSU agribusiness senior, Zondlak is the daughter of Matt and Deb Zondlak. She received the award based on her academic achievements, involvement in extracurricular activities and interest in pursuing a career related to dairy production.
While at MSU, Zondlak has been an active member of the MSU Dairy Club and dairy cattle judging program. She was a member of the winning team overall in the collegiate division at the 2013 North American International Livestock Exhibition (NAILE) in Louisville, Ky., and was high individual in the Holstein breed and seventh place overall in oral reasons. In 2012, Zondlak competed as a member of the MSU Ag Tech team, and she was high individual in the Jersey breed and fourth place overall in oral reasons at the NAILE. She also participated two years in the MSU Dairy Challenge as an Ag Tech student. Zondlak placed first in the novice division in 2011 and first in the Ag Tech division in 2012. She is also a former senior Michigan Dairy Ambassador.
In 2011, Zondlak earned a Bachelor’s of Art degree in communications with minors in advertising/public relations and Spanish. In 2012, she earned a certificate in dairy management from the MSU Institute of Agricultural Technology. In addition to classwork on campus, Zondlak completed a one-month intensive Spanish language study abroad program at the Universidad de Belgrano in Buenos Aires, Argentina in 2011 and a two-month dairy internship in the Netherlands, Belgium and France in summer 2012. She has been employed full-time at Star-Summit Farm in Byron Center since 2005. After graduation, Zondlak plans to return full-time to the farm and enter into a business partnership with her employer.
The Michigan Dairy Memorial and Scholarship Foundation awarded more than $92,000 in scholarships to 31 MSU students pursuing dairy industry-related programs of study for the 2013-2014 academic year.
For information on making contributions to honor members of the dairy industry or to support student scholarships, please contact the MSU College of Agriculture and Natural Resources External Relations at 517-355-0284. To learn more about the Michigan Dairy Memorial and Scholarship Foundation, contact Dr. Miriam Weber Nielsen in the MSU Department of Animal Science at 517-432-5443.