WCMA Announces 2021 Scholarship Recipients

Following a competitive selection process, the Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association (WCMA) today announced the names of its five 2021 scholarship recipients. Each year, WCMA awards scholarships worth a total of $15,000 to students across the U.S.

“WCMA members recognize education as an essential factor in the growth of the dairy processing industry,” said John Umhoefer, WCMA Executive Director. “Our organization is honored to invest in our next generation of leaders.”

Dairy processors and their family members are eligible for the WCMA Myron P. “Mike” Dean Cheese Industry Student Scholarship. Over 24 years, WCMA has awarded these $3,000 scholarships to 44 students, and the 2021 recipients are:

Isaac Johnson, a quality assurance employee at Valley Queen Cheese Factory and undergraduate student studying civil engineering at South Dakota State University. Following graduation, Isaac hopes to continue his career in the industry by designing wastewater treatment plants for facilities such as cheese plants factories.

Claire Sipple, a former cheese operations intern at Agropur Inc. and food science major at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, graduating in 2023. Claire plans to pursue a career in the dairy industry as a food scientist in product development of dairy proteins in cheese and whey products. Claire’s father, Mike Sipple, is employed at Agropur Inc., a WCMA member company.

Suppliers to the dairy industry and their family members have earned the WCMA Supplier Student Scholarship since 1999. This year’s winners are the 55th, 56th and 57th recipients recognized by WCMA; they are:

John Koch, a high school senior matriculating at Purdue University in fall 2021, planning to major in chemical engineering. John aims to intern at a food processing company during his undergraduate career, followed by a career as a food process engineer. John’s mother, Carolyn Koch, is an employee at Urschel Laboratories, Inc., a WCMA member company.

Maxwell Martin, an undergraduate student pursuing a degree in computer engineering and certificate in Chinese at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Following graduation, Maxwell hopes to pursue a career in automated electronic hardware design and implementation to contribute to his family’s business in the dairy processing industry, both locally and globally. Maxwell’s father, Michael Martin, is a part owner of Complete Control Solutions, a WCMA member company.

Melissa Young, a project manager at Kelley Supply, Inc. and graduate student pursuing a Master of Science in supply chain management at the University of Wisconsin-Stout. After graduation, Melissa aims to apply her coursework by streamlining automated processes at Kelley Supply, Inc.

The source of scholarship monies is the annual Championship Cheese Auction, where award-winning cheeses from WCMA’s Championship Cheese Contests are sold to the highest bidders. This year’s live auction will take place online on Wednesday, April 7, as part of CheeseExpo Global Online. Interested bidders can register now at WorldChampionCheese.org.