Get to Know Me

Hello everyone, to get started I grew up on a farm outside of a very small town (that as of 11-12-12 isn't really a town anymore) in the extreme northwest corner Missouri. I am currently in LPN school. I work weekends, go to school full time, and have a part time job on top of it all. Any free time I have I spend doing homework or sleeping! My job on the weekends is a night shift CNA at a nursing home close to my house. My part time job is working at a small pizza shop in the town I went to high school. That was my first job and I've been there for almost 4 years.


One exciting thing going on in my life right now is that I am the 2014 Missouri Honey Princess. I am a member of the Missouri State Beekeepers Association and now I am a representative for them. I travel all around the state of Missouri to promote honey and beekeeping. As of right now I have 3 beehives. One of which is a swarm catch. I am absolutely passionate about beekeeping and really want to try this whole year to promote it and encourage younger generations to get involved with it. 


Like I said I am a farm girl. We don't have a very big farm at only 10 acres. We have had all sorts of animals from goats to hedgehogs, buffalo to pigs, and about every animal, domesticated or wild, in between. My dad grew up around horses so up until my 8th grade year we had at least 4 horses on the place at all times. We had mostly appaloosas and quarter horses. When I was little my dad had a cutting horse that he spent weekends showing in Iowa. By the time we got old enough that we could start doing more with the horses we decided that we would rather show livestock and so the horses got put aside. Now though I regret that decision not that I didn't enjoy showing livestock but I wished I did both.



Showing livestock was probably one of the best things that could have ever happened to me. This year marked the 10th year of showing. I started out showing just goats and later on showed chickens and pigs as well. We traveled all over during the spring, summer, and fall showing at county, state, and national levels. We showed in Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, and Oklahoma. There were some summers we did really good and some summers we didn't. But the friendships made, belt buckles, banners, and ribbons won, and bonding with new animals every year made showing worth every penny and hour spent. This year I plan on going back to showing goats. One year I decided I wasn't going to show goats and just focus on pigs and then the following year came back to showing goats and pigs and realized that that was where my true passion would always be and that even after "retiring" for a year that I loved every minute of it. I hope that I can continue to show and will defiantly encourage my kids to take up showing because I have had so many good experiences and have learned some valuable life lessons from it.



The two main organizations I was involved with growing up were 4H and FFA. I was in 4H for almost 9 years. With 4H I attended camp, was an officer in our club, showed livestock, did achievement and special activity days, and did several projects. My true passion and main focus during high school ended up being FFA. I was very involved with it all 4 years of high school and will be in until I get my American Degree hopefully next fall in Louisville, Kentucky. With FFA I went to Indianapolis twice, went to Baltimore and Washington DC one summer, and traveled to many towns and cities in Missouri for contests and conventions. I held the offices of Junior Reporter, Vice President, President, and Area 1 Sentinel. I was on the soils, dairy cattle, poultry, parliamentary pro, and State qualifying livestock and knowledge teams. I also did 4 speeches all qualifying for districts and my last a runner up for state. I helped with and planned our monthly breakfasts, blood drives, church services, tractor pull concessions, and many other activities. I can honestly say that I was sadder at my last banquet than I was at my own graduation. FFA meant the world to me and it was hard to say good bye. As I was saying my retiring president’s address and thanking my AG teacher I had to choke back several tears.



Along with 4H and FFA during high school I was in several other clubs and organizations. I was a member of National Honor Society, National Technical Honor Society, Drama Club, FBLA, and Student Council. I was also a member of the Varsity Girls Golf Team. I participated at districts 3 years, qualified for sectionals 2 years, and qualified for state and made the all-district team my senior year.



As for my future goes the only things that I know for certain are that I want to be a nurse and I want to live on a ranch and raise bucking bulls/horses. Where exactly do I want to live? That’s a great question. I have tossed around so many different ideas it’s a total guessing game. I’ve wanted to live in Texas, Colorado, Alaska, Maine, Wyoming, Montana, and even Louisiana. I guess wherever the wind takes me that is where I’ll end up. As for wanting to raise bucking bulls and bucking horses that’s a dream that I’ve had for quite a while and is something that I think about almost every day. I’ve always loved watching and going to rodeos but it wasn’t until 7^th grade that I realized that in order to make these rodeos possible they had to have people who brought the livestock. I was so fascinated by this concept that it has really got me to thinking that that is something I want to do before I die. The one main goal that gets me out of bed every day is to be able to have stock good enough to go to the NFR. There is nothing I want more than the opportunity to flank one of my animals in those yellow and blue chutes!!