DelVal student helps family of young girl with cancer

A selfless act by a Delaware Valley University student at this year’s Pennsylvania Farm Show has sparked an outpouring of support for the family of a little girl with stomach cancer. 

Colton Zundel ’19, a Delaware Valley University student, has been showing animals at the Farm Show for 15 years. This year, he took home Grand Champion honors for Panda, a junior beef steer that sold for $19,500 at the Farm Show. Since April, Zundel has been spending his weekends caring for and preparing to show the steer.

Zundel plans to donate a large portion of the earnings from the steer to a family whose 4-year-old daughter is suffering from stomach cancer. The family is choosing to remain anonymous. 

“It’s a privilege to be able to do this,” said Zundel of the donation. “The livestock industry is not about individual people. Even though it is very competitive, when something like this happens everyone comes together and really supports people and families.”

Zundel does not know the little girl or her family personally, but decided to donate because he “needed to do the right thing.” 

He has been in contact with the family and hopes to meet them some time next week. 

News coverage of Zundel’s selfless act sparked a flood of donations to the family, which the parents are using to start a 4-H scholarship in honor of their daughter. 

Dr. Chris Tipping, interim dean of agriculture and environmental sciences could not be more proud of how Zundel represented the institution at the Farm Show this year. 

“Delaware Valley University is more than a place where students learn about their academic majors,” said Dr. Tipping. “We also teach values at DelVal. It’s important to us that our graduates are not only highly competent young professionals, but also kind, caring people. Colton is a great example of someone who lives by our core values.”