Alumni chapters are making a difference

Thursday, December 17, 2020

Caden Schaufele is one of many students who is able to pursue his dreams of attending OSU because of scholarships offered through the OSU Alumni Association and his local OSU Alumni chapter.

“I’ve always loved Oklahoma State University,” Schaufele said. “I’ve always known that I wanted to come here.”

In the past five years, $1,673,600 in scholarships have been given to 838 students. Schaufele is one of 163 of this year’s recipients of OSU Alumni Chapter scholarships from three different states. A total of $278,000 in scholarships was awarded to incoming OSU freshmen this year.

Schaufele is originally from Edmond, Oklahoma. When he was in sixth grade, his family moved to Hobart, Oklahoma, to take over his grandfather’s farm. Now, Schaufele returns to the farm often to help his father with the family’s diversified production of cattle, wheat, sesame, cotton and mung beans. He also enjoys hunting, fishing, football and spending time with his friends and family.

He is a freshman at OSU studying agribusiness with a pre-law option. He hopes to lobby for an agriculture-based company on either the state or national level and then return to the family farm. He is a member of FarmHouse fraternity.

Schaufele is the southwest area vice president for the Oklahoma FFA Association, an accomplishment that began with an affinity for prepared and extemporaneous speaking contests and helping with his high school’s FFA livestock show team.

“My family, my parents and my supporters are the main reason I do this,” he said. “They’re my inspiration. They taught me how to work for things. They instilled in me the work ethic to go and pursue the things I want.”

To find a local chapter and opportunities to help support students from your area, visit ORANGECONNECTION.org/chapters.