Reagan Koester of Wadesville, Indiana, is the recipient of the 2023-24 Soy Scholarship award, sponsored by the American Soybean Association and BASF.
The ASA/BASF Soy Scholarship is a $7,000 award presented to an exceptional high school senior who excels in both academics and leadership roles and who plans to pursue a degree in an agriculture-related field at an accredited college or university. The scholarship is open to children and grandchildren of ASA members.
Koester is a senior at North Posey High School in Posey County and plans to attend Purdue University.
“Through ASA’s partnership with BASF, we’ve been able to invest in continuing education of outstanding students and young ag advocates for more than a decade,” said ASA President Daryl Cates, who grows soybeans in Illinois. “We are excited by Reagan’s passion for agriculture and look forward to seeing the leader she will continue to become.”
Koester’s impressive agriculture involvement includes leadership roles in FFA, 4-H, and as a youth representative on the Purdue University Extension Advisory Board. She has earned numerous awards and recognitions, including FFA Star in Agriscience, 4-H Indiana State Ambassador, and Indiana Business Professionals of America Top Member. Those who have seen Koester in action describe her as a person who “makes the best better.”
Koester said she lives by her grandmother’s teachings on the spirit of giving: “If you have two apples, give the better one away.” This philosophy motivates her to serve others and to identify a career that will lead her on a path to continue the legacy of her family farm.
“The minds of young students are the most fertile soil this industry has to grow a future grounded in sustaining life and improving farming as we know it,” said Scott Kay, vice president, U.S. Crop, BASF Agricultural Solutions North America. “We are committed to investing in each scholarship winner committed to a life of doing ‘the biggest job on Earth.’”
