Spirit of Ruth

Shannon Boswell

Shannon manifested her love of agriculture early along with an attitude of service. She grew up in Parkersburg, WV, spending time at her Aunt and Uncle’s farm, then engaging in 4-H and truly put the lessons to heart (along with head, hands, & health.) She matured into FFA engagement serving the community as a member, then as a mentor becoming a leader through her chosen field in agriculture education. In College, she continued the leadership and service mentality, joining Sigma Alpha, and graduated with both a bachelor’s and Master’s agricultural education degree(s). As an active sister, she was always ACTIVE. Helping others, growing others, and being a sister who was/and continues to be hard working, smart and kind.

She put her education to the test for more than a decade, teaching high school agriculture, in first Hinton, then in West Union, where she served the students and by extension the community. Growing the next crop of leaders through her warm heart, she built the program in her school to include an animal processing facility and greenhouse lab. From there, Shannon left WV, to share her skill and ability with Montana! She was brought in to be the new Agriculture Education Specialist for high school. Montana recognized the gem they found in Shannon and she is now the Division Administrator in the Career and Technical Education Program for Montana. 

April Burg Vollherbst

April (Burg) Vollherbst graduated from the University of Delaware in 2014 with a degree in Food and Agribusiness Marketing and Management. She served as 2nd Vice President for the Alpha Kappa Chapter and was a founding member of the Special Interest Greek Council. April continued her Sigma Alpha journey by serving as a Chapter Consultant for Region 8 from 2015-2019 and served on the National Sorority Board as Collegiate Membership Director from 2019-2021. April credits her Sigma Alpha experience for much of the success she has earned in her professional career.

April joined AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals in 2014 while finishing her degree and worked in Supply Chain and Distribution, supporting the samples, free goods, and trade operations programs. Since then she has moved into the Market Access area of the commercial business, where she currently works as Associate Director of Contract Operations. She oversees a team of analysts who support contracting and claims activities for regional and national payer accounts. During her time at AZ, April has also volunteered as an AZ-Inspire mentor, which supports the development of summer interns across the US business.

April married her husband, Luke, in October 2021. They currently live in Wilmington, DE and enjoy exploring the local parks, restaurants, and breweries. April is also an avid cook and will gladly talk to anyone about food.

Sydney White

Sydney White is originally from Bealeton, Virginia. She went on to attend West Virginia University where she graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Wildlife & Fisheries in 2018 and a master’s degree in Energy Environments with a certificate in GIS &Spatial Analysis in 2019. Here is also where she first joined Sigma Alpha, WVU—Chi Chapter, and would later go on to serve as the recruitment and sisterhood chairs. She also has been President of the Alumni Chapter and has formerly served as a national leadership team Chapter Consultant from 2019 to 2021. Sydney currently works for the NRCS division of the USDA as a soil conservation in Braxton County, WV. She resides in the Clarksburg area with her Pomeranian pup Ollie and is an avid hunter, hiker, and mountaineer fan!