In 1999, AFDOSS established the Mary Logan Scholarship in honor of one of our great members who served as Secretary/Treasurer for our regional affiliate for 30 years. Mrs. Logan, who is now retired, worked 39 years with the Tennessee Department of Agriculture.
This scholarship in the amount of $4,500 is designed to be awarded to top students who have demonstrated a desire to serve in a career of research, regulatory work, quality control, or teach in an area related to some aspect of foods, drugs or consumer product safety. Student candidates should have demonstrated leadership capabilities and must have at least a 3.0 grade point average.
The annual recipient of the Mary Logan Scholarship is generally announced during the AFDOSS Business Luncheon held as part of the Annual Education Conference.
The criteria for this award reflects the love and dedication that Mary Logan has for AFDOSS and for every person that belongs to AFDOSS, or supports its goals and objectives. This award stands not only as a tribute to Mary Logan, but as a reminder that AFDOSS must always support and encourage the training and development of people. It is a symbol that the role of AFDOSS will not only live on, but that its role will expand and grow.
Criteria for Selection of Award Recipient
The following criteria will be used by the selection committee to select the award recipient. The applicant must:
- Have primary residence in one of the AFDOSS states (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, or the territory of Puerto Rico).
- Be currently enrolled in a college or university as a part-time or full-time student pursuing an undergraduate or graduate degree.
- Have completed at least the first three (3) years of their undergraduate studies and be entering next semester with a GPA of 3.0 or higher.
- Have demonstrated a desire to serve in a research, regulatory work, quality control, or teaching career in one of the following areas: food safety, drug safety, or consumer product safety.
- Have demonstrated leadership capabilities.
- Complete the online Scholarship Application Form, including the submission of two (2) letters of recommendation and a copy of their most recent college transcript(s), on or before June 15 of the current year.
Applying for the Mary Logan Scholarship
AFDOSS is now accepting applications for the 2024-2025 academic year. To apply, please click here.
Meet Mari Schroeder, our 2023 Mary Logan Scholarship Awardee!
The 2023 Mary Logan Scholarship awardee is Mari Schroeder.
Mari Schroeder, a resident of Florida, is an instructor for the Produce Safety Alliance (PSA) Grower Training curricula and an On-Farm Readiness Review (OFRR) Assessor. As the Spring 2022 fellow at the Partnership for Food Safety Education, Ms. Schroeder developed and led the Food and Tech Council to assist the Partnership in creating an action plan to efficiently deliver information to food safety educators. Ms. Schroeder is currently a full-time PhD Candidate in Food Science at the University of Florida and will receive $4,500 to use toward her studies.
“Food safety and quality has been important to me from a young age. When I was adopted from China, I was malnourished and dangerously underweight. As I grew up, I learned that the orphanage where I lived was not financially stable so most of the food was bought from informal markets where the food was displayed directly on the ground or from bins that were wet and soiled. Fruits and vegetables were usually purchased because they were cheaper and more available than meat, but they were never washed, always bruised and more often than not had mold. Since my adoption, I have been fortunate to always have access to high quality food products but I am always reminded, in some way, of the poor conditions in the orphanage. It is for this reason that I became interested in food safety and quality and is still the reason that I have continued my education as a graduate student.
In my collegiate journey, I have been exposed to the different aspects of food safety and quality in terms of different food products and points throughout the farm-to-fork supply chain. The highlights during this time have been 1.) my involvement with the Plain Community (Amish and Mennonite), as I assisted them in implementing food safety practices at their produce auctions; 2.) an internship in Ethiopia with Ohio State University for the purpose of collecting survey data from abattoirs and local growers on health and hygiene; and 3.) a fellowship with the Partnership for Food Safety Education where I developed and led the Food and Tech Advisory Council for the purpose of supporting their network partners and educators with timely and relevant food safety guidance.
These experiences stand out to me because they have shown me the need and importance of being able to educate the most vulnerable consumers. It is for this reason that after I complete my PhD program that I aspire to work for a not-for-profit or non-governmental organization whose mission is to improve the health of individuals and communities in need through agriculture. I am deserving of this award because, like Mary Logan, I want to dedicate my life to serving those who need help protecting their livelihoods, families, communities, and customers through food safety.”