Emily Shiloh shakes Dean Beyrouty's hand as she walks across the stage at the AGNR Commencement.
Image Credit: Edwin Remsberg
The IAA’s 2019 graduation celebration brought together our most recent graduates and one of our very first graduates—our alumni speaker, Robert “Wayne” Evans, who entered the IAA in 1965 as part of the Institute’s first class of students. Evans compared his own experience at the IAA with the experiences of students today. “We were a bunch of mavericks,” said Evans, reminiscing about the early days of the turfgrass program. Evans, who graduated from the IAA in 1967 in the middle of the Vietnam War, spent a stint in the Navy before commencing a successful career as a golf course superintendent and sales consultant.
Along with his memories of the IAA, Evans offered this year’s graduates several pieces of advice. He counseled them to change with the times, and he urged them, “Get involved. Not just in work, but in your communities... Give back. Your expertise can help the less fortunate as well.” Evans, who received the IAA’s Distinguished Alumni Award at the brunch, has followed his own advice—he is an active member of many professional organizations and community groups.
In addition to Evans and his family, the brunch crowd at the College Park Marriott included our graduating students and their families; IAA faculty; and a number of the IAA’s supporters from the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources and from the local agricultural community. IAA lecturer Eric Dunning served as emcee, keeping the festivities rolling as the crowd enjoyed a delicious meal and listened to remarks from the speakers.
This year’s three student speakers—Rachel Heeley, Brandy Walterhoefer, and Clayton Young—all talked about their experiences at the Institute. Their speeches ranged from tear-jerking to comic, but all three speakers described the IAA as a supportive educational home where they could grow and learn. In his speech, Young explained why the IAA felt like a warm, inviting community: “It’s the professors that really make the difference,” he said. “When you look down the hallway at the IAA, almost every door is open.”
The IAA is very proud of this year’s graduates, who are embarking on a variety of different careers and educational paths.
Kaitlyn Ardovini
Bowie, MD
Agricultural Business Management
Pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Animal Care and Management at UMD.
Tyler Barnhart
Reisterstown, MD
Turf Management
2nd Assistant Golf Course Superintendent at Caves Valley Golf Club.
Cameron Reese Bell
Hampstead, MD
Agricultural Business Management
Farm Manager at Archer Farms, Inc., in Hampstead, MD.
Jacob Bialk
East New Market, MD
Agricultural Business Management
Planning to work in agricultural sales.
Austin Fisher
Turfgrass Management
Working with American Turf.
Aaron Jesse Thomas Frock
Westminster, MD
Ornamental Horticulture
Working in his orchard and on the family farm; earning a certificate in landscape management.
James Alan Hastings
Hurlock, MD
Agricultural Business Management
Working for Nutrien Ag Solutions.
Rachel Heeley
Burtonsville, MD
Agricultural Business Management
Pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Animal and Avian Science at UMD.
Adeline Seana McCaul
Silver Spring, MD
Sustainable Agriculture
Pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Horticulture at UMD; backpacking; and farming.
Sean Patrick Meagher
Sustainable Agriculture
Pursuing a graduate degree.
Paul W. Saathoff
Denton, MD
Agricultural Business Management
Working as a grain farmer at Saathoff, Inc. (his family farm).
Edwin C. Sanchez
Sustainable Agriculture
Pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Agronomy at UMD. Working at Terp Farm.
Nathan Serway
Sustainable Agriculture
Pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Ecological Technology Design at UMD.
Emily Shiloh
Forest Hill, MD
Agricultural Business Management
Pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Animal Care and Management at UMD.
Ryan Matthew Smith
Ohio
Ornamental Horticulture
Working toward being an agricultural entrepreneur.
Bryson W. Spaulding
Hollywood, MD
Golf Course Management
Assistant Superintendent at Worthington Manor Golf Club.
Maxwell Robert Sturges
Rockville, MD
Golf Course Management
Agronomist at a top-five golf club in Pennsylvania.
Luke Sultenfuss
Centreville, MD
Agricultural Business Management
Growing his cattle business, started in 2017.
Brandy Alexandra Walterhoefer
Ellicott City, MD
Agricultural Leadership and Communication
Pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Architecture at UMD.
John “Jack” Wavering
Germantown, MD
Agricultural Business Management
Pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Agronomy at UMD.
M. Trent Wolfersberger
Owings, MD
Sustainable Agriculture
Growing his hops farm and developing on-farm brewing.
Clayton G. Young
Douglasville, GA
Golf Course Management
Assistant Superintendent at Winter’s Run Golf Club.
