Student adds Asparagus award to academic plate

MESA, Ariz. - Daniel Sanchez, agribusiness senior at Arizona State University's Morrison School of Management and Agribusiness, received the Asparagus Scholarship, a $3,000 award given to students who are pursuing a degree leading to a career in the grocery industry. He is the first Morrison School student to ever receive the national scholarship.

The Asparagus Scholarship is awarded by the Asparagus Club, a club founded in 1909 in Baton Rouge, La., that has awarded more than $800,000 in scholarships during the last 15 years. The club annually grants scholarships to a limited number of students from across the country.

Sanchez, a native Arizonan from Gilbert who plans to graduate Magna Cum Laude in May, competed against applicants from several other top food marketing schools in the country, like Cornell, Michigan State, Western Michigan and St. Joseph's University.

It's not the first or the only scholarship for Sanchez. He has received the Beth DeGroff Memorial Scholarship, the McGab Agribusiness Scholarship, the Robert Lytle Scholarship and the Arizona Food Marketing Alliance Food Professionals Scholarship.

"I have benefited greatly by this and all scholarships by helping take the burden of paying for school off my shoulders and letting me only concentrate on my school work," he says.

During his academic career at ASU, Sanchez has been selected to participate in the Food Marketing Institute's annual show in Chicago and also the National Grocers Association trade show in Las Vegas.

"At these shows, I was quite impressed with Daniel's ability to converse easily with food industry executives," says Renee Hughner, assistant professor in the Morrison School of Management and Agribusiness. "At dinner seated next to industry professionals and while touring the show floors, Daniel was able to confidently and respectfully converse with people much more experienced than he. He conveyed a genuine interest in the industry and the people whom he met."

In addition to going to school, Sanchez has been working at Albertsons as an assistant meat manager. While working and attending school full-time, he made the dean's list every year and has been recognized as an outstanding leader by the Morrison School.

All of his experiences have prepared him well of his future in the grocery industry. "The grocery industry is a very challenging, innovative industry," says Sanchez. "Groceries are a necessity to consumers because the days of growing one's own food are gone. I have been able to learn about the food chain and supply chain in the industry and hope to use what I learned in a category manager or food merchandiser position with a food company."