2025 Agriculture and Food Science Student Award Winners

John Shirley
Outstanding Agribusiness Student

John is a senior Agriculture major with a concentration in Agricultural Business from Edmonton. His interest in agriculture developed while growing up on his family’s cattle farm. While at WKU, he has been working at Burkmann Feeds of Edmonton, starting as a feed mill operator and now an assistant manager. John enjoys helping local farmers with their operations’ needs and looks forward to continuing that service after graduation from WKU. John is planning to pursue a career in sales or finance and hopes to start his own beef cattle operation.

Tori Langman
Outstanding Agricultural Education Student

Tori is a senior from Allen County with concentrations in Agricultural Education and Animal Science. Tori enjoys working with her horses and raising and training Miniature American Shepherds for competition. Tori has represented the Department of Agriculture & Food Science at Agriscience and Education Field Day, National FFA Convention, and the North American College and Teachers of Agriculture (NACTA) Judging Conference, placing second in the nation with the Agricultural Education Judging Team at NACTA. She has been a Teach Ag Day Ambassador and a member of the Agricultural Education Society for four years, serving as President her senior year. She is completing her student teaching at Portland High School in Tennessee and plans to continue her education by working on her master’s degree.

Elijah Dotson
Outstanding Agronomy Student

Eli started at WKU in 2023 after graduating from Bowling Green High School. He is in the Agriculture and Food Science program, with a concentration in Agronomy- Plant and Soil Science. He has been a member of the soil judging team since 2024. He enjoys his teachers and the opportunities that they have given him throughout his time at Western. When not in class, he is working at the AREC fixing equipment or on his family farm, where they produce alfalfa and orchard grass hay. He would like to thank his family and teachers for giving him opportunities in and out of school.

Chris Shaw
Outstanding Animal Science Student

Chris is from Metcalfe County where he lives on his family farm in Summer Shade. During his senior year of high school, Chris decided to pursue a career in veterinary medicine. Upon making this decision, he started spending a lot more time working with his dad, who is a cattle veterinarian. Chris decided that attending WKU was the best fit for him and his desire to go to vet school. While attending WKU, Chris was an active member of the Pre-Vet club and was an Ag Ambassador for one year. Most of his spare time was spent either working with his dad or on the farm. This fall he will attend Auburn’s College of Veterinary Medicine.

Kenzley Allara
Outstanding Floriculture Student

Kenzley is graduating with a degree in Agriculture with a concentration in Horticulture and a certificate in Floristry. She is a first-generation college student from Glasgow, Kentucky, where she started her college career at the WKU Glasgow campus. Kenzley has worked at the floral design training center as a co-op student for two semesters and is a member of the Dr. James M. Martin WKU Student Chapter of the American Institute of Floral Designers. After graduation, Kenzley plans to work in the floral industry.

Catie Craig
Outstanding Horticulture Student
Outstanding Senior in Agriculture

Catie is from the mountains of Northeast Georgia where she enjoys hiking, gardening, and art. During her time at WKU, she competed on the women’s golf team, actively participated in FCA, and interned with the golf course maintenance team at Indian Hills Country Club. She has multiple academic and athletic recognitions, including 2024 Conference-USA Scholar Athlete of the Year, an individual CUSA Championship, and three WKU records for lowest 18-36-54-hole scores. She plans to play professional golf on the EPSON Tour and pursue a career in golf course design. She recently played in the Augusta National Women’s Amateur where the top 72 players amateurs in the world are invited.

Sophia Patino-Ruiz
Outstanding Horse Science Student

Sophia Patino-Ruiz is a sophomore Agriculture major from Pleasant View, Tennessee with a concentration in Horse Science. Sophia has always had a deep love for horses. She is a part of the WKU Equestrian Team and Stock Horse Team and is grateful for the opportunities and experiences she has been given. She enjoys any time that she gets to have class out on the farm and get hands-on learning. After graduating, she hopes to train and continue showing horses. Sophia wants to be able to educate others and see others develop the same passion that she has for these beautiful animals.

Shi Jie Liu
Outstanding International Student

Shi Jie ‘Paul’ Liu is a student from Ningbo City, Zhejiang Province of China. He transferred to WKU from Jilin Agricultural University in Changchun, China and majored in Agriculture. Besides his main research in animal science, Paul also loves everything related to music, foods, and fashion. Paul enjoyed participating in various activities on campus and learned much from the faculty and his peers. As a non-native speaker, Paul has appreciated that his advisors and instructors were always willing to give a hand, and he thanks everyone for all their patience and encouragement.