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In April 2025, the Prexy Council honored four seniors for their outstanding service and contributions to the College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences. Students applied for the award, and then a committee made up of faculty and staff reviewed the applications, looking at the students' overall involvement during their time at South ��ֱ���� State University, their volunteer experience, their internship and work experience during college and their responses to questions about their most impactful experience at SDSU and an event they were involved with.

This year's honorees were Sydney Heins, Kristen Smith, Mitch Vanderwal and Kade Wassman. Read more about each of them below.

Sydney Heins

Sydney Heins of Wayzata, Minnesota, majored in ��ֱ���� science with a production management specialization and minored in biology.

Not only did Heins excel in the classroom, she was also extremely active across campus in clubs and organizations including Sigma Alpha sorority, Little International, Collegiate Cattlemen’s Club and Animal Science Ambassadors. She was a member of the Minnesota Junior Hereford Breeds, serving in roles including director, vice president and president.

As an early graduate, Heins was an undergraduate research assistant for three years and worked as an undergraduate ruminant nutrition lab technician, where she performed lab protocols to determine the nutritional content and quality of feeds from the SDSU feedlot. She’s been a teaching assistant for Dr. Russ Daly’s Animal Diseases course.

“When I arrived at SDSU, I was thrilled by the abundance of agricultural opportunities right at my fingertips. I immersed myself in everything I could, connecting with professors, joining research projects and getting involved in clubs and organizations. I took advantage of these opportunities because I wanted to make a difference in the agriculture industry and work toward my career goals,” Heins said.

After her freshman year, Heins learned that her interests were more in ��ֱ���� genetics than ��ֱ���� nutrition. She confided in Michael Gonda and began working in his lab on bison DNA confirmation research. That same semester, she applied for a research grant through the South ��ֱ���� Cattlemen’s Foundation and was one of two students selected. This grant allowed Heins to conduct her own research project on the efficiency of the Neogen Igenity Feed Test for predicting days on feed.

During these research projects, Heins joined an undergraduate research program led by Gonda that was designed to teach student how to develop and execute research projects. This team was made up of four students and three faculty members. Heins contributed to a study examining stress levels in sows housed in gestation pens versus stalls. Through this experience, Heins gained valuable skills in teamwork, research grant writing, literature review, RNA sequencing and other research methodologies.

In summer 2024, Heins interned with PEAK genetics in Shawano, Wisconsin, part of the URUS company family, which specializes in high-quality cattle genetics. As a genetic data intern, Heins worked with genetic and reproductive data to generate reports that informed management decisions for high-quality dairy calves.

After graduation, Heins will be interning with Recombinetics/Acceligen, a gene-editing company in St. Paul, Minnesota, where she will continue conducting gene-editing research as an intern project.

Following her internship, Heins will begin her master’s degree at Kansas State University, research ��ֱ���� genetics — specifically in gene editing on a full departmental assistantship. After completing her master’s, she plans to pursue a Ph.D. in ��ֱ���� genetics to conduct applied gene-editing research.

“I am not the only student with this experience. Many students enter the College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences with a wide range of interests, and each one is supported on a personal level, leading them toward success. My time at SDSU has been life changing. I’ve met my best friends, built meaningful connections with faculty and peers, achieved more than I ever imagined, and gained the skills to take my next steps. SDSU and the College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences provides students with unparalleled opportunities and support, making it the most impactful part of my college experience,” Heins said.

Kristen Smith

Kristen Smith of College Springs, Iowa, majored in agricultural communications with minors in advertising, agribusiness marketing, agricultural business and ��ֱ���� science.

During her four years at SDSU, Smith was involved in Agricultural Communicators of Tomorrow where she served on the National ACT team for the 2024-2025 term as the member relations coordinator. Additionally, she was heavily involved in Sigma Alpha sorority, College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences Prexy Council, College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences Ambassador, Little International and Agricultural Futures of America.

Along with her extracurriculars, Smith worked in the college's marketing and communications department for four years. In her role, she worked across all College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences departments, writing releases on students, faculty, staff and alumni along with managing social media pages on behalf of the college.

Aside from the on-campus involvement, Smith worked in the marketing, communications and events sector for a variety of organizations within the agricultural industry including National Pork Producers Council, Cattle Business Weekly, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, South ��ֱ���� Cattlemen’s Association, North American Junior Red Angus Event, National Western Stock Show, Northern International Livestock Exposition and Balance4ward.

“When it comes to picking just one event, I have been involved in during my time at SDSU, it’s no easy task,” Smith said. “I have been extremely fortunate to see student life in two different lenses, as a student myself and as an employee with College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences marketing and communications — planning and executing a variety of events for various audiences.”

The one that easily rises to the top for Smith is Ag Week at SDSU, put on by the Prexy Council. This event is one that Smith was extremely passionate about.

“Ag Week is meant to touch every department and reach as many faculty, staff and students across campus as possible,” Smith said. “This week is a time to recognize and celebrate work that is put in throughout the entire year by students, faculty and staff.”

Smith believes that there were two pivotal moments during her time at SDSU. First was her choice to major in agricultural communications.

“Majoring in agricultural communications has opened so many doors I never thought were possible,” Smith said. “From the connections I’ve made to the growth I’ve endured, I wish I could truly put into words how many memories this major has also brought me.”

Her second pivotal moment was taking the jump to travel about to the West Coast, London, Paris, Australia and South Africa during her four years at SDSU.

These travels have allowed Smith to gain a deeper appreciation for the world and a better understanding of other lifestyles and cultures, which is truly humbling.

Smith has accepted a position as a marketing and sales associate with Fire & Salt Co., a direct-to-consumer beef retail company in Corning, Iowa, that strives to provide the ultimate beef experience and honor the people who work day in and day out to do the hard things to feed America.

Mitchell VanderWal

Mitchell VanderWal of Howard, South ��ֱ����, majored in ��ֱ���� science and agricultural science.

On campus, VanderWal was a member of the Wool Judging and Livestock Judging teams. He was involved in Little International, Collegiate Cattlemen’s Club, Animal Science Ambassadors, College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences Ambassadors, Swine Club, Lamb and Wool Club and Dairy Club.

Through the Department of Animal Science, VanderWal participated in undergraduate research, the Animal Science Academic Quadrathlon and a teaching assistant for ��ֱ���� science courses.

In the industry, VanderWal worked for the Red Angus Association of America, Darr Feedlot, ��ֱ����land Feeds, SDSU Dairy Research Farm, Double S Ranch and Watertown Farm Show. 

In spring 2023, VanderWal was approached with the idea of starting a new club that focused directly on cattle production.

“I had the opportunity to lead a new club in the first-ever fully recognized, open-to-the-world, inaugural meeting,” VanderWal said.

Since then, Collegiate Cattlemen’s Club has truly blossomed into one of the college's most active clubs on campus. Some 126 members showed up to the first meeting.

“A truly overwhelming day. I was beyond excited for all the student who came to check out the new and exciting adventure of Collegiate Cattlemen’s,” VanderWal said.

It was extremely rewarding for VanderWal to see how many colleges student were excited to start something new with Collegiate Cattlemen’s.

“I have met a lot of people during my time on campus through classes, group projects, club trips and many study sessions. I have been fortunate to have met a lot of individuals who have truly made a difference in my life,” VanderWal said. “As my time here at South ��ֱ���� State has ended, I am fully confident that I can look back with happiness, knowing every connection I made with people was truly for the best.”

Kade Wassman

Kade Wassman of Ornsby, Minnesota. majored in agricultural business with a minor in commodity risk management.

On campus, Wassman was a part of FarmHouse Fraternity, College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences Ambassadors, Little International and Agronomy and Precision Ag Club, where he spearheaded much of the planning for the Students of Agronomy, Soils, and Environmental Science event, hosted on SDSU’s campus in the spring. Students of Agronomy, Soils, and Environmental Science is the national gathering of agronomy clubs.

“These four organizations have added depth and value to my time in college, where I made lifelong friends that I would have never made otherwise” Wassman said. “It is my true belief that these clubs and organizations have been an integral and important part of who I am and my experience in college.”

Wassman has been an agronomy sales intern for Crystal Valley Cooperative, where he oversaw field scouting, occasionally soil sampling, delivered seed and chemical and talked to growers about different agronomic problems.

The following summer, Wassman returned to Crystal Valley as a precision ag intern, pulling planter data, riding along to clients, planting plots, working on a spray drone team, scouting fields and soil sampling. When his boss left that summer, Wassman took over his full-time vacancy for the remainder of the summer.

This past summer, Wassman interned for Wyffel’s Hybrid as a sales intern. Along with his internship experience, Wassman also farms his own ground and makes all the management decisions including logistics, marketing and planting.

Aside from the five years of farming, Wassman decided to sell seed and crop insurance. Recently, Wassman has become licensed to sell crop insurance.

“Overall, I have been very fortunate with the experiences that I have been able to participate in, and I would not trade any of these experiences for anything," Wassman said.