Jaden Alrichs receives Wallace E Barron All-University Award

By Amber Friedrichsen

Three students in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences have been named recipients of the 2023 Wallace E. Barron All-University Senior Award. Established in 1968, the award recognizes students who display notable character, high academic achievement, and are actively involved in on- and off-campus activities.

Wallace E. “Red” Barron served as Iowa State University’s director of alumni affairs from 1937 until 1968. In addition to administering the award in his honor, the ISU Alumni Association will present recipients with the official Iowa State University ring. The students awardees also will be honored during a luncheon in April.

This year’s awardees from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences include:

Jaden Ahlrichs

Jaden Ahlrichs

Jaden Ahlrichs, senior in global resource systems and horticulture, became interested in food security issues after attending the World Food Prize Iowa Youth Institute as a high school student. His participation in the program piqued his interest in the global resources systems major at Iowa State and led him to work as the communications intern for the World Food Prize in 2019.

Ahlrichs has also gained hands-on experience by working at the Horticulture Research Station and completing an international internship at the University of Montpellier in France. There, he and his peers worked in an agripolymer laboratory and developed a non-dairy yogurt product made out of chickpea and lentil flour.

“We ground up the beans, added lactic acid bacteria, and fermented it in a hot water bath. Then it solidified into a yogurt consistency,” Ahlrichs said. “It was very much a trial by fire experience, but I learned a lot and it was amazing.”

Ahlrichs has been a residence hall community advisor and a senator for the Inter Residence Hall Association on student government. He currently serves as the student body vice president and strives to communicate students’ concerns to administration, facilitate university events, and promote resources available on campus.

“I’ve always had an interest in leadership in government and public service, and being vice president is fulfilling that niche,” Ahlrichs said.

He is also a member of Cardinal Key and Alpha Zeta. After graduation, he will be a lead agronomist for Sustainable Environmental Consultants in West Des Moines, Iowa, where he will help farmers improve their production practices to minimize their environmental footprints and boost their profitability.

Read the original story posted by the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, CALS students named Wallace E. Barron All-University Senior Award recipients | College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (iastate.edu).