NRAEF : Blog

Meet Sysco Scholarship recipient Lauren Reynolds, one of 25 students who received a $5,000 scholarship as part of the Sysco Scholars program. Read on and learn more about what receiving this scholarship means to her.

Name: Lauren Reynolds

Scholarship Received: Sysco Scholarship

School: University of Kentucky

Major: Hospitality Management and Tourism, minor in Business

Learn more about Lauren in her own words below:

When I found hospitality management, a major that combined my two passions of food and business, I never looked back. Being in this field has given me great opportunities such as having internships for the past two years, networking with professionals within the industry, and countless other ventures in these four short years.

What keeps me motivated is knowing that I’m making my family proud back home in Michigan. As the oldest sibling, I have to set the right examples for my younger brothers. With everything that’s been tossed my way, I’ve made the most out of it.

For the past two years, I’ve served as Fundraising Chair for the nationally-ranked MANRRS – Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources and Related Sciences – Chapter, recognized as a scholar within my major’s department, and had the opportunity to represent my MANRRS Chapter in Minneapolis during their Ag Ideas Week in October 2019.

As my college career comes to an end, my short-term goal is to graduate with a full-time job offer. Within the next ten years, I want to open a restaurant with my brother, who is currently going to school studying Pastry Arts.

With this end game on my mind, I have to keep pushing, because no one is going to make this come true for me. I have to want it, with every inch of me ready to get there, and thanks to this scholarship, I can.

Apply for NRAEF scholarship today through March 15, 2021. For tips on how to complete your application, click here.