Emma Hinz realized she had a story to tell when she discovered the Saskatchewan Agriculture Student Scholarship.
Her story would go on to win her the top prize of $4,000 towards her education.
Her mom and her sister told her about the opportunity, which called for young people to send in an essay or video telling their food stories.
Growing up on her family grain farm, Hinz sees how hard her dad works to put food on everyone elses’ table.
“I think there’s a lot of fear surrounding food and some of the agricultural processes used in the industry. I know I have a really good inside view and I wanted to try and clear some of that up that it’s not scary.”
Grain farming is sustainable and safe and Hinz has a special inside view to promote that side of agriculture, she says.
Hinz sees a lot of the fear in agriculture is around genetically modified foods. Especially looking at the issue as a Type 1 Diabetic, Hinz says her insulin comes from the same processes as some genetically modified foods.
“I have a healthy lifestyle thanks to insulin and I know it’s actually nothing wrong with it. It’s safe, sustainable, and is going to help us feed the growing population.”
While Hinz does not know where she is going to go yet for her post-secondary education, the scholarship will help in her first year wherever she goes.
Right now, Hinz is maintaining a strong average and she wants to maintain that during university.
“It’ll really let me focus on school. I don’t think I’ll have to work throughout the school year and I can just focus on my studies.”
Whether it be veterinary medicine or other avenues, Hinz says she will be going into an agriculture related field of study.
According to the Saskatchewan government press release, Laura Carruthers of Frenchman Butte, Kati Culbertson of Redvers and Crystal Daniel of Avonlea also took home prizes for their submissions claiming runner-up prizes of $2,000.
Awards were presented by Agriculture Minister Lyle Stewart at the Legislature in Regina on May 8.
