Chase Clausen earns first Bob & Norma Wildenradt Ag Scholarship.
Bob and Norma Wildenradt endowed a gift to the DeKalb County Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture to support young people with a promising future in agriculture.
“We especially want to help college students who are looking at a career in agriculture,” said the Sycamore couple.
Through the Farm Bureau Foundation they established the Bob and Norma Wildenradt Ag Scholarship earlier this year. Recently, their scholarship was granted to Chase Clausen of rural Sycamore.
“Young people like Chase Clausen provide so much hope for the future of agriculture,” said Bob Wildenradt.
Chase is a senior at the University of Illinois studying agricultural & consumer economics. Coincidentally, it’s the same campus where Bob obtained an engineering degree.
“Those were good years on campus,” reminisced Bob and Norma, who were married and lived on campus in the early to mid-1950s. “Enjoy your college years,” they urged Chase before he returned to college.
“I will,” responded Chase and thanked the Wildenradts for their generosity. “It’s because of generous supporters like Bob and Norma Wildenradt and the DeKalb County Farm Bureau that I am able to focus on academics while in college,” Chase said.
“This scholarship means so much to me. Growing up in the Farm Bureau system, I have learned the value of agriculture and all that Farm Bureau does for the future of agriculture. Receiving this new scholarship is an honor and means a lot to me to know you believe in youth pursuing agriculture.”
At the University of Illinois, Chase is president of Collegiate Farm Bureau, an organization of students interested in and supportive of Farm Bureau and its mission.
Chase also finished a summer internship with John Deere and hopes that his skillsets will result in a job offer after college.
His farm background provided the impetus for pursuing a career in agriculture as he worked alongside his parents Jeff and Anna and brothers Jared and Justin. “Raising livestock and crops on our family farm allowed me to gain a large appreciation for this incredible industry.”