Growing Student Potential with Gifts of Grain

When a corn seed emerges from the soil in the spring, it has so much potential – and like many South Dakota farmers, Randy ’99 and Cindy (Abraham) ’78 Frederick do everything they can to maximize its yields. 

An added benefit of gifts of grain is that transferring ownership of the grain to the SDSU Alumni & Foundation at delivery also provides the Frederick family with the proof of production paper trail necessary for crop insurance purposes.

Frederick Family Farm Established 1882

It’s significant that the grain the Fredericks raise on their family farm supports Jackrabbits because Randy, Cindy, and Tucker are all SDSU graduates. Homesteaded in 1882, the farm has benefited from SDSU and the land grant university’s Extension programming.

“The critical thinking skills and the problem-solving skills I acquired while at SDSU have helped me throughout my farming career,” Randy said. “SDSU Extension has been my ‘ace in the hole,’ because, throughout my entire career, Cindy and I have attended numerous cooperative extension classes – we became better farm managers because of SDSU Extension.” 

The couple has farmed together for most of their 48 years of marriage. 

Gifts of Grain Helps Students Maximize Their Potential

Raised on a farm near Hazel, Cindy was the first generation in her family to attend college. 

Today, about 3,000 of the over 12,000 students enrolled at SDSU are the first in their family to attend a four-year university. Understanding the challenges these students may face, the Fredericks wanted their scholarship to provide encouragement.

“Maybe this scholarship will be the deciding factor for someone to take the step and attend college. Once they make this commitment, SDSU opens a brand-new door for them and maybe even the rest of their family,” explained Randy, who serves on the South Dakota Board of Regents.

It was a high school friend who encouraged Cindy to attend SDSU. Growing up, she loved playing softball, so when she learned about the physical education major while taking a class in the newly built HPER Center, she was all in.

"I loved my time at SDSU. If I could do it all over again, I would go back to college in a heartbeat,” said Cindy, who has primarily farmed full-time with Randy since graduation. “I can run a tractor and drive a combine, and I enjoy working outside. We also wanted to raise our kids on the farm."

In addition to Tucker, the Fredericks also raised daughters Jodi Baumberger ’01 and Krista Cronin on the farm. 

Randy started his SDSU career the same year as his then-girlfriend, Cindy Abraham, but juvenile rheumatoid arthritis prevented him from completing his degree. Fortunately, under the care and direction of a local doctor, Randy was able to eventually recover from the disease. 

Not being able to complete his degree weighed on Randy. “I was feeling pretty down in the dumps that I could not finish my four-year degree,” Randy shared. “But then my uncle, an engineer, looked me straight in the eye and said, ‘What in the world makes you think your education has to stop just because you can’t go to university?’ He encouraged me to start reading anything and everything I could and find areas of interest and educate myself. This was the impetus that drove me to dive into SDSU Extension classes.”

Determined to live life to its fullest once he regained his health, in addition to farming full-time, Randy became a ham radio enthusiast, proficient in Morse code, and served 12 years in the South Dakota Legislature. In 1999, then-SDSU President Peggy Gordon Miller informed Randy that a new student information system had flagged his name, notifying the university that his existing credits qualified him to receive his associate's degree; Randy later walked through graduation. The Fredericks are living proof of the positive outcomes that can grow from starting at SDSU.