AKRON — Tippecanoe Valley High School Senior Austin Nickerson was recently named District Star in agriculture placement. The award places him as the top student within District II for a job in an agricultural field. The award is based on a combination of their Supervised Agriculture Experience program, participation in Career Development Events, and their leadership skills.

Nickerson has an SAE that focuses around employment at several local businesses. Through his SAE, Nickerson has worked on a beef enterprise, a progressive club lamb operation, and complete work with forage management as well. However, his primary job has been working on a grain operation where he helps with all phases of the business, including tillage, planting, harvesting and machinery maintenance. He is the son of Jody and Laura Nickerson

Nickerson will now compete for section star honors against two other students from Section I, by participating in an interview and submitting his Hoosier Degree for further evaluation. He has exemplified success within the FFA program serving as a chapter officer for two years and competing in Livestock Judging, Creed Speaking, and Essay Writing over his four years. Nickerson will also be competing for final four honors in his state proficiency of diversified agriculture over the next week. He qualified for this competition by winning his proficiency area in District II last year and receiving gold status at state this year.

In addition to the aforementioned award, Nickerson has also been awarded a $2,000 scholarship from John Deere/Greenmark.