Maria Kuhns, an agribusiness management major from Mason, Illinois, was named Outstanding Senior at CAFNR’s 2019 Celebration of Excellence awards ceremony, held Thursday, April 11.

Kuhns has served as the MFA Undergraduate Research Scholar in the Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics since 2015. She is the president of the MU Agribusiness Club and part of the Sigma Alpha sorority. Kuhns was the Executive-in-Residence intern from August 2017 to May 2018. She was named CAFNR’s Outstanding Sophomore in 2017, served as a CAFNR Summer Welcome Peer Counselor, and was a past Litton Leadership Scholar and CAFNR Dickinson Scholar.

“I’ve known Maria since her senior year of high school and have had the privilege of working with her since her first semester at Mizzou,” said Joe Parcell, director, Division of Applied Social Sciences. “Maria and her mother visited my office prior to her committing to Mizzou. During her first visit, I saw a confident young woman eager to learn and perform at the collegiate level. I quickly committed an undergraduate research assistantship to her, and I have never regretted that decision. It is without question that Maria has spent her four years at Mizzou contributing her time and talents to CAFNR. Maria has remained as a student employee in the department of agricultural economics and later the Division of Applied Social Sciences for all four years. Maria has contributed to program and division efforts through research projects, recruitment efforts and alumni relations.”