The Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources and Related Sciences program has won the National Chapter of the Year Award for the second consecutive year. The program received its award at the MANRRS national convention in St. Louis in late March.

Nina Grant, Minority Liaison Officer for College of Agriculture, said the program allows students of color to come together because very few minorities study agriculture and related sciences.

“It’s very important to foster a bond with one another, to work and relate to one another,” she said. “You can work together to be successful as a student at Iowa State.”

The program emphasizes community service and building leadership skills. This year, the ISU chapter of MANRRS held food drives around the Thanksgiving season. With their donations, group members were able to give six families full Thanksgiving dinners. The food drive and dinner were in memory of Cynthia Hansen, a secretary in the dean’s office who worked in Curtiss Hall for more than 20 years.

Grant said she is proud of the students who participate in MANRRS, and hopes the ISU chapter will become the first to be named National Chapter of the Year three times.

“Now we are one of three schools whose student organizations have been chosen twice,” she said.

Virginia State and Texas A&M also won two awards.

Aaron Jeffries, graduate student in agronomy, said being recognized two consecutive years is a satisfying feeling.

“It feels great,” he said. “Our chapter, we like working together. It’s a feeling of accomplishment.”

Jeffries was a big part of both wins, as he has been the National Graduate President for the last two years.

“From a personal point of view, it was really great,” he said. “This was at the end of my term.”

The ISU chapter of MANRRS was selected from six regional finalists on the basis of community service, chapter membership building, promotion of the national MANRRS society and the development of Ag Sciences.

“We try to lead by example,” Jeffries said.