CCFB Foundation Scholarship Winners Announced
The Board of Directors of the Cook County Farm Bureau Foundation have selected nine individuals as recipients of the 2026 Scholarship Program. Addison McGlaughlin of Belvidere was awarded the Howard Paarlberg Excellence in Agriculture Scholarship and Leah Sheeha of Palatine was awarded the Stuenkel Family Legacy Scholarship. Receiving general farm and food scholarships were Lindsey Bycraft, Lilliana Bernabei, Isabella Yarc, Alex Murr, Martin Dwyer, Jennifer Miller, and Cameron Conroy. A total of $18,500 of scholarship funds were distributed.
Howard Paarlberg Excellence in Agriculture Scholarship
This scholarship is designed to honor Mr. Howard Paarlberg, the first President of the Foundation and President of the Farm Bureau for 16 years. The recipient of this scholarship carries the prestige of being the top-rated applicant and receives a greater financial reward.
Addison McGlaughlin – Howard Paarlberg Excellence in Agriculture recipient
McGlaughlin currently attends Joliet Junior College and intends to transfer to UW-Madison in the fall with her intended majors being Dairy and Food Animal Management and Animal and Veterinary Bio Sciences. She’s been involved in 4-H, FFA, and the CCFB Young Leader’s Group.
Stuenkel Family Legacy Scholarship
This scholarship was created to honor the many contributions made by the Stuenkel Family to the Cook County Farm Bureau, the Foundation, and the organization’s agriculture education and literacy programming. It has been designed for those who are pursuing higher education with a focus on an agriculture related career in the areas of technology, education, leadership development, and/or mental health.
Leah Sheehan – Stuenkel Family Legacy Scholarship recipient
Sheehan attends the University of Minnesota and is majoring in Industrial/Systems Engineering. Her involvement in 4-H contributed to her passion for agriculture and with her degree, she hopes to create smarter systems that will use resources more efficiently to help farmers and the food industry meet both consumer and regulatory demands.
Lindsey Bycraft – General Agriculture Scholarship
Bycraft currently attends Glenbrook South High School and is highly involved in her 4H club. She hasn’t made a final decision on which college she’ll be attending in the fall yet, but she hopes to become an agricultural innovator and communicator.
Lilliana Bernabei – General Agriculture Scholarship
Bernabei attends Iowa State University and is pursuing a degree in Agricultural Business and has obtained a real estate certificate. She hopes to support the growth of the ag community and help farmers and landowners navigate the complexities of real estate.
Isabella Yarc – General Agriculture Scholarship
Yarc attends Joliet Junior College and is working on an associate’s degree in applied science (Ag Business). She has grown up in the ag industry and hopes to pursue a career that will help shape practical, effective policies that are grounded in the real experiences of producers, with a focus on small and family owned farms.
Alex Murr – General Agriculture Scholarship
Murr attends the University of Missouri and is currently in the College of Veterinary Medicine. He is committed to providing outstanding veterinary care to farm animals and is particularly interested in being a livestock veterinarian with an interest in horses and cattle.
Martin Dwyer – General Agriculture Scholarship
Dwyer plans to attend either the University of Missouri or Iowa State University in the fall. His passion for agriculture started as a young kid working with his mom in the garden. He hopes to work with crops on a larger scale after college in the field of agri-business.
Jennifer Miller – General Agriculture Scholarship
Miller attends Southern Illinois University’s School of Dental Medicine and is working on her doctorate in Dental Medicine. She has been greatly involved in the ag world by attending Young Leaders meetings, statewide conventions, and other related ag events. Her agriculture career goal is to provide dental services in a rural/underserved area in Cook County.
Cameron Conroy – General Agriculture Scholarship
Conroy will attend Xavier University in Cincinnati, OH in the fall. Cameron hopes to work in agriculture policy to establish and protect more sustainable farming practices for farmers and farm workers.
The Cook County Farm Bureau Foundation® was established by the Cook County Farm Bureau to carry out charitable, literary, and educational work in Agriculture. The Foundation Board established the Agricultural Scholarship Program to provide financial assistance to students pursuing education for agricultural careers and to encourage the best and brightest young minds to return to Agriculture as their chosen career.