The Mushroom Festival l Mushroom Farming in the News l Farm Profile
Josh Meute of Avon Grove will attend Grove City College and study biochemistry. “Mushrooms define our community,” Meute said. “We see mushrooms everywhere around here. I felt inspired.”
Geovana Castaneda of Avon Grove will attend Potomac State College of West Virginia University and study forensic science. “My parents are in the mushroom industry and my best friend won last year,” Castaneda said. “The essay was easy to write.”
Brendan Freehart of Avon Grove will attend George Washington University and study physics. “This is a great community,” Freehart commented. “A lot has been written about mushrooms.”
Jeffrey Holden of Avon Grove will attend the Berklee College of Music in Boston and study performance and composition. “I learned a lot about the foundation of mushrooms,” Holden said.
Damodhar Mallya of Unionville will attend James Madison University in Virginia and study psychology. “I didn’t know how important the mushroom industry is to Pennsylvania and my community,” Mallya said. “It is a significant cash crop.”
Maria Elvia Zavala of Kennett will attend Penn State University and study political science.
Rocia Torres Cortez of Kennett will attend Millersville State University. She is undecided on a major.
Avon Grove, Unionville, Oxford and Kennett high school students each receive $1,000 for college education
Scholarship recipients not pictured include Lauren Bachman, Oxford, Katelyn Berardi, Avon Grove and Rosa Nely Zavala, Kennett.
AVONDALE _ Nine high school seniors from Avon Grove, Unionville, Oxford and Kennett high schools were awarded $1,000 scholarships by the Community Awareness Committee (CAC) of the American Mushroom Institute.
“Mushroom farmers have supported our local community in numerous ways in the past century. Helping deserving students continue their education is an excellent way to give back to our neighbors,” said Pete Alonzo, chairman of the scholarship committee.
The scholarships were awarded Wednesday, June 27, 2007, at the American Mushroom Institute’s Avondale office. The winners were selected after writing an essay about mushrooms. Grades and community service were also factors in the selection. The winners of the scholarships are:
Daisy Ayllon of Avon Grove will attend Villanova University and study English and biology in the liberal arts programs and hopes to either practice medicine or law.
Amanda Hess of Avon Grove will attend West Chester University and study communications. She hopes to enter broadcast journalism.
Juventino Mireles of Avon Grove will attend the main campus of Penn State University. He will study engineering. “I love math, it is one of my best subjects, along with science and physics.
Katelyn Berardi of Avon Grove will also attend the main campus of Penn State University. She has not decided on a field of study but welcomes a career that is “intense and enjoyable.”
Tina Santucci of Avon Grove wrote an essay on the history of her family’s mushroom farm. Click here to read Tina's essay.
Lauren Bachman of Oxford will attend Lancaster General College of Nursing. “I want to be able to encourage others on the road to recovery with grace and passion. I want to be part of making a difference,” she wrote.
Ryan Crossman of Unionville will attend Penn State and study turf management. In his essay, Crossman wrote about the many positive aspects of mushroom farming, including increased jobs, cultural diversity and “a new respect for the culinary art of mushrooms.”
Rosa Nely Zavala of Kennett wrote in her essay about the worldwide popularity of mushrooms.
Adam Ortiz-Cordova of Kennett said the economic impact of the mushroom industry to the area is significant and many families rely on mushroom farming to live and prosper.
The Committee has awarded more than $119,000 in educational scholarships since 1993. The organization also donates $8,000 a year to the Agriculture in the Classroom Scholarship Fund to educate Pennsylvania teachers about farming and supports the Kennett Square Mushroom Festival in September.
Other associations supported by the Community Awareness Committee are the Avon Grove Library, Brandywine Valley Association, Chester County Historical Society, Chester County Migrant Ministry, La Communidad Hispana, Tick Tock Early Learning Center, Chester County Envirothon, Penn State Extension Literacy Project, Community Volunteers in Medicine, Kennett Area Unity Day, Southern Chester County Chamber and the Stroud Water Research Center.
A major fundraiser for the Community Awareness Committee is its annual golf tournament. The 22nd annual CAC-Mushroom Festival Scholarship Tournament will take place at the Kennett Country Club on Tuesday, September 4, 2007.