MMSU AGRI STUDENTS GET CANADIAN SCHOLARSHIP

SENIOR agriculture students of Mariano Marcos State University (MMSU) in Ilocos Norte have received scholarship grants from the only Filipino-owned and -operated private school in Alberta, Canada.

Brian Realgo of the MMSU Strategic Communication office said the scholarship grant is part of the Canada-based AGA Academy’s continued partnership with MMSU.

Realgo said the new senior agriculture students — Roslyn Sampayan, Audrien Marie Tungpalan and John Christopher Tumamao — were chosen as the AGA Academy Presidential Scholarship beneficiaries.

The agriculture students received P26,600 for the first semester of the 2023-2024 school year and will receive the same amount for the second semester.

Realgo said the AGA Academy Presidential Scholarship, in its second year, helps deserving regular fourth-year students taking a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture with a general weighted average of not lower than 1.75 and coming from low-income families.

During the recent signing of the scholarship contracts, MMSU President Shirley Agrupis challenged the scholars to finish their degrees, graduate at the top of their class, and produce good research that would benefit their community.

MMSU Student Affairs and Services Director Emil James Tanagon and Institutional Student Programs and Services chief Jahnese Asuncion were at the contract signing.

An MMSU alumna, Abelita Villanueva, is the president and chief executive officer of AGA Academy. She is an agricultural technology graduate at MMSU College of Agriculture, Food and Sustainable Development, then the College of Agriculture and Forestry in 1998.

AGA Academy is dedicated to assisting local, diverse, and international students in achieving their academic goals by providing the necessary resources to plan their studies in Canada. It is a Designated Learning

Institution approved by a provincial or territorial government to host international students in Canada.

MMSU Alumni Relations chief Krismary Sharmaine Yapo said the selection process of the scholarship beneficiaries followed strict guidelines.

“This is to ensure that the most qualified students receive the scholarship,” she said.