NEW ORLEANS, LA – The 2025 National Rice Month Scholarship Video Contest Grand Prize Winner is Evelyn Arnold, a graduating senior at Wakeland High School in Frisco, Texas. Her award-winning video, “
Growing More Than Grain,” takes U.S. rice far beyond the dinner plate to its myriad uses in animal feed and bedding, as a renewable energy source, and as a component in construction material. The connections her video makes with rice are far-reaching and seemingly endless!
The inspiration for her video topic came easily to Evelyn who is the secretary of her school’s Future Farmers of America (FFA) chapter. “I had learned of the National Rice Month Scholarship from the National FFA Organization website. One day, while in the barn caring for my show barrow, Mac, I realized I was grooming him with a rice root brush – we use those brushes on all the animals – and that’s when I knew I wanted my video to explore rice usage beyond the common food or culture-related topics.”
Evelyn’s video also touches on U.S. farming practices that focus on sustainability and making sure no part of the rice harvest goes to waste.
In December, Evelyn traveled to New Orleans to attend the USA Rice Outlook Conference, where she received her award in person from Chris Crutchfield, CEO of American Commodity Company, the scholarship sponsor. She shared her video at the General Session, and then had the chance to mix and mingle with attendees, as well as record a segment for
The Rice Stuff podcast - coming soon.
For her, this scholarship not only marks a significant achievement but also a stepping stone toward her dreams of a career as a large animal veterinarian. “My plan is to attend Texas A&M University, where I have been accepted, and major in ecology and conservation biology,” said Evelyn. “After I complete my undergraduate degree, I intend to apply to their vet school.”
In addition to FFA, Evelyn is involved with her high school's DECA club, an international non-profit student organization that prepares students for careers in marketing, finance, hospitality, and management through classroom instruction, real-world application, business connections, and competitive events. Evelyn is focused on their entrepreneurship program, where she’s creating a start-up business plan for her future mobile vet service.
“I want to provide more convenient veterinary care to those in rural areas,” she said. “And, if I get the chance, I also want to have my own ranch and create a new composite cattle breed that better fits consumer demands as well as the Texas climate.”
Scholarships were also awarded to second place winner, Vanessa Ng from Saint Charles, Missouri, for her video, “
A Grain Worth Celebrating,” and Kirkley Ann Rawls of West Helena, Arkansas, third place winner, for her video, “
Cheering For Rice.”
Go
here to view all the winners of the 2025 video contest.