SAN DIEGO, CA -- The Cajun combination of rice and crawfish production not only drives southern Louisiana economically but also positively impacts the region’s environment. This story of rice production’s environmental benefits, told in video form, won one Louisiana high school senior this year’s National Rice Month scholarship.
Caroline Benoit, winner of the 2018 scholarship sponsored by Corteva Agriscience™, Agriculture Division of DowDuPont, received a $4,000 scholarship and a trip for two to the awards ceremony at last week’s 2018 USA Rice Outlook Conference in San Diego.
Benoit attends Louise S. McGehee School in New Orleans. Her winning video, titled “Rice in Louisiana,” was chosen from a field of 86 entries and is a comprehensive overview of rice production in her home state.
“I think when most people think of rice, they think of the most obvious -- food,” Benoit said. “But I learned there’s so much more to rice and its importance to my home state and the nation as a whole.”
Benoit admitted to some hesitance about working on a project like this that was outside her comfort zone. “By winning, I mostly learned that if I just put myself out there and try something new, the outcome could be really good.”
Go to
thinkrice.com/scholarship to view all the winning videos.