A scholarship helps Ella McGrath achieve her educational and career goals. 

Ella McGrath has always known she wanted to make a difference. Growing up in the small town of Ackley, she discovered her passion for agriculture early, but it wasn’t until she volunteered at a food bank during her freshman year of high school that she began to understand the urgency of food insecurity. “That really opened my eyes,” Ella said. “There’s food insecurity all around the world, but I didn’t recognize just how deep-rooted it can be until I started traveling.”

Now a student at Iowa State University, Ella is majoring in Horticulture and Global Resource Systems. She’s dedicated to improving food systems not only in Iowa but across the globe. 

Her studies have taken her far from home—most recently to Costa Rica, where she’s learning about tropical botany, climate change adaptation, and volunteering at a local butterfly and conservation garden. “I feel like that’s what I’ve gained a lot here—just different perspectives,” she explained. “It’s super relevant as I go into a world facing climate change and how we adapt agriculture to meet that.”

Ella credits the Hugh George and Elizabeth Scallon Scholarship, a fund of the Ackley Community Foundation, as transforming her college experience. “It’s been life-changing,” she said. “It’s opened doors for me—like traveling to Italy to work with the United Nations on food and agriculture projects, and now studying abroad in Costa Rica. I wouldn’t have had those experiences without the scholarship.”

Beyond the financial support, Ella says the scholarship is a symbol of belief in the next generation. “It’s amazing to know someone believes in us and our goals. That support has changed my life—and the way I see the world.”