Michigan State student named Vickers scholar

For Immediate Release
November 29, 2012

Lawrence, Kan.: Michigan State University student Rodney Crouse has been selected as the 2012 Vickers Scholarship winner among 14 students earning 2012-13 scholarships from the Trans-Mississippi Golf Association. Crouse, 31, will receive a $7,500 scholarship as he completes his golf turfgrass education in March. He also receives a bronze sculpture of Old Tom Morris and other gifts from the Trans-Miss.

“The monetary support is crucial for me, but the recognition from such a prestigious organization I could never put a dollar amount on,” said Crouse, a North Carolina native now living in Lansing, Mich. “It’s such an honor to win an award from an organization that has been doing this as long as they have and helped so many people. Like I tell my wife every day, I can’t believe that they chose me to win this award.”

Crouse has a 3.9375 GPA inMichiganState’s highly regarded turf program and currently serves as president of the MSU Turf Club. He has worked on the maintenance staffs at Roaring Gap (N.C.) Golf Club and Forest Akers Golf Course inLansing,Mich., and interned at Boca Rio Golf Club inBoca Raton,Fla.Crouse served as a volunteer on the maintenance staff at The Players Championship in May.

“Rodney Crouse has come to the program atMichiganStateUniversityand made the absolute most of the situation,” says John N. Rogers III, turf professor and Crouse’s academic advisor at MSU. “He has strived to become a leader, and has displayed this leadership attribute every day by putting the group ahead of his personal needs. It has been quite impressive and will serve him well.”

Crouse, who was on the Michigan State President’s List last spring, also earned a Jacobsen Turf Scholarship and the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America Award.

“The golf course maintenance industry is always evolving and always changing,” Crouse said. “I feel that if you’re going to evolve and change with the industry education is crucial. You have to stay up on the new technologies, the new studies and the new research because if you don’t, you’re going to be a step behind. Without my education I wouldn’t be able to advance my career.”

Five students were selected for $4,500 Trans scholarships, including Logan Murphy, Penn State University; James Mackie, University of Tennessee; Maggie Reiter, University of Minnesota; Christopher Konow, Penn State University; and Travis Russell, University of Arkansas.

Murphy of Dodge City, Kan., receives the Tom Crow Scholarship. He has a 4.0 GPA in Golf Course Turf Management atPenn St., was the school’s turf club president in 2012 and has interned at Prairie Dunes Country Club inHutchinson,Kan.

Mackie of Knoxville, Tenn., receives the Jackie Lee Scholarship. He has a 4.0 GPA in Turfgrass Science and Management atTennessee, helped the school’s turf club improve 30 spots at the 2012 GCSAA Turf Bowl and interned this past summer at Quaker Ridge Golf Club inScarsdale,N.Y.

Reiter of Cascade,Iowa, receives the Francis Whittaker Scholarship. She has a 3.41 GPA in Horticulture atMinnesota, currently serves as a research assistant in the Turfgrass Research Program and earned scholarships from theUniversityofMinnesota Horticulture Dept.and the Women’s Western Golf Foundation.

Konow of Plainfield, Conn., receives the W.D. McBee, Jr. Scholarship. He carries a 4.0 GPA in Turfgrass Management at Penn St, earned a scholarship from the Pennsylvania Turfgrass Council and served as manager for the top-rankedUniversityofConnecticutwomen’s basketball team while earning a Political Science degree at UConn.

Russell of Duncanville, Texas, receives the Curtis Ford Scholarship. He has a 3.806 GPA in Horticulture, Landscape and Turf Sciences atArkansas, earned the department’s Golf and Sports Turf Management Scholarship this past fall, and interned at Dallas National Golf Club in 2011 and 2012.

Eight students were selected for $3,000 Trans scholarships including Ryan Munro, South Dakota State University; Peter White, University of Massachusetts; Alex Lincoln, Michigan State University; Daniel Rude, University of Minnesota; Darrell Michael, University of Nebraska; Benjamin Burrill, Penn State University; Peter Braun, The Ohio State University (Hale Irwin Scholarship); and Andrew Northeim, The Ohio State University (Jack Nicklaus Scholarship).

TheTrans-Mississippi Golf Associationis one of the oldest and most prestigious golf organizations in theUnited States. Established in 1901, the Trans-Miss is composed of more than 140 member clubs located throughout the country. The Association is governed by a board of independent directors. Since the Trans-Miss Scholarship Fund granted a $600 scholarship in 1953 toColoradoStateUniversity(then Colorado A&M), theTrans-Mississippi Golf Associationhas become a national leader in assisting young men and women pursuing careers in turf management.

For more information on the Trans Scholarship Program go to www.trans-miss.com/scholarships.