My name is Kaitlynn Whitten and I’m 18 years old from Macon, Georgia. When I was five years old, my parents lost custody of me to the State of Georgia and I ended the foster care system. It was a tough time and my therapists recommended to my foster parents that I find a hobby. They signed me up for horseback riding lessons and I fell in love with horses and eventually with cattle. The horses provided me with unconditional love, they’re always to see you, you never have to wonder how they’re feeling or what they’re thinking – they show you everything. Being around horses and working with them has helped me realize that I want to have a stable, financially secure future. I want to go to college, have my own business, own my own home and be debt free. I know I’m going to have to work hard for those goals and I’m ready to do that. As my senior year in high school I wanted to go out with a bang in FFA. There is competition called the proficiency award. Where FFA members who worked or have there own farm based business. I work at a breeding facility in which I was suppose to fill out an application and send it to the state of Georgia. I won area and region and will be competing in state hoping to make it to the national level. This has showed me that no matter what you think you can't do, but you can do it. I have found out that I am capable of doing whatever I put my mind to. I want other kids to know this and make sure that they step out of there comfort zone and do the impossible. One thing I’ve learned so far in life is that no matter what it throws at you, you can always turn that to a positive. Just keep going. As long as you’re going, you’re moving in the right direction. I have several ways I want to make a positive impact on my community when I graduate. I want to volunteer with foster kids, because I've been there and can help them understand that there's a way to grow up and be successful. Another way I want to give back to my community is through riding lessons. Horses are such a big part of my life. They are what saved me and gave me purpose when I didn't know what to do. I plan to give riding lessons to kids that face the same challenges I did. I give riding lessons today. We focus on kids with disabilities. But I don't see them that way. I just see kids who want to be around horses. When we stop seeing each other with labels, it really does get easier. A true reflection of a person is when you see them with an animal. Graduation from college seems so very far away, but I know it will come more quickly than I expect. My horse, Casino, is going to go to Abraham Baldwin Agriculture College with me. I'm hoping to be able to setup riding lessons for foster kids while I'm in school.

My name is Kaitlynn Whitten and I’m 18 years old from Macon, Georgia. When I was five years old, my parents lost custody of me to the State of Georgia and I ended the foster care system. Having my foster parents which are now my guardians in my life has showed me that having a family that supports you is okay.It was hard trying to understand that getting help is okay. It was a tough time and my therapists recommended to my foster parents that I find a hobby. They signed me up for horseback riding lessons and I fell in love with horses and eventually with cattle. The horses provided me with unconditional love, they’re always to see you, you never have to wonder how they’re feeling or what they’re thinking – they show you everything. Being around horses and working with them has helped me realize that I want to have a stable, financially secure future. I want to go to college, have my own business, own my own home and be debt free. I know I’m going to have to work hard for those goals and I’m ready to do that. One thing I’ve learned so far in life is that no matter what it throws at you, you can always turn that to a positive. Just keep going. As long as you’re going, you’re moving in the right direction. Life throws things at you which you think you will never get through. If you keep going and keep moving forward the good things are waiting to happen. As my senior year in high school I wanted to go out with a bang in FFA. There is competition called the proficiency award. Where FFA members who worked or have there own farm based business. I work at a breeding facility in which I was suppose to fill out an application and send it to the state of Georgia. I won area and region and will be competing in state hoping to make it to the national level. This has showed me that no matter what you think you can't do, but you can do it. I have found out that I am capable of doing whatever I put my mind to. I want other kids to know this and make sure that they step out of there comfort zone and do the impossible. You only live once why not live it to the fullest.

My name is Kaitlynn Whitten and I’m 18 years old from Macon, Georgia. When I was five years old, my parents lost custody of me to the State of Georgia and I ended the foster care system. It was a tough time and my therapists recommended to my foster parents that I find a hobby. They signed me up for horseback riding lessons and I fell in love with horses and eventually with cattle. The horses provided me with unconditional love, they’re always to see you, you never have to wonder how they’re feeling or what they’re thinking – they show you everything. Being around horses and working with them has helped me realize that I want to have a stable, financially secure future. I want to go to college, have my own business, own my own home and be debt free. I know I’m going to have to work hard for those goals and I’m ready to do that. One thing I’ve learned so far in life is that no matter what it throws at you, you can always turn that to a positive. Just keep going. As long as you’re going, you’re moving in the right direction. I have several ways I want to make a positive impact on my community when I graduate. I want to volunteer with foster kids, because I've been there and can help them understand that there's a way to grow up and be successful. Another way I want to give back to my community is through riding lessons. Horses are such a big part of my life. They are what saved me and gave me purpose when I didn't know what to do. I plan to give riding lessons to kids that face the same challenges I did. I give riding lessons today. We focus on kids with disabilities. But I don't see them that way. I just see kids who want to be around horses. When we stop seeing each other with labels, it really does get easier. A true reflection of a person is when you see them with an animal. Graduation from college seems so very far away, but I know it will come more quickly than I expect. My horse, Casino, is going to go to Abraham Baldwin Agriculture College with me. I'm hoping to be able to setup riding lessons for foster kids while I'm in school.

My name is Kaitlynn Whitten and I’m 18 years old from Macon, Georgia. When I was five years old, my parents lost custody of me to the State of Georgia and I ended the foster care system. It was a tough time and my therapists recommended to my foster parents that I find a hobby. They signed me up for horseback riding lessons and I fell in love with horses and eventually with cattle. The horses provided me with unconditional love, they’re always to see you, you never have to wonder how they’re feeling or what they’re thinking – they show you everything. Being around horses and working with them has helped me realize that I want to have a stable, financially secure future. I want to go to college, have my own business, own my own home and be debt free. I know I’m going to have to work hard for those goals and I’m ready to do that. One thing I’ve learned so far in life is that no matter what it throws at you, you can always turn that to a positive. Just keep going. As long as you’re going, you’re moving in the right direction. I have several ways I want to make a positive impact on my community when I graduate. I want to volunteer with foster kids, because I've been there and can help them understand that there's a way to grow up and be successful. Another way I want to give back to my community is through riding lessons. Horses are such a big part of my life. They are what saved me and gave me purpose when I didn't know what to do. I plan to give riding lessons to kids that face the same challenges I did. I give riding lessons today. We focus on kids with disabilities. But I don't see them that way. I just see kids who want to be around horses. When we stop seeing each other with labels, it really does get easier. A true reflection of a person is when you see them with an animal. Graduation from college seems so very far away, but I know it will come more quickly than I expect. My horse, Casino, is going to go to Abraham Baldwin Agriculture College with me. I'm hoping to be able to setup riding lessons for foster kids while I'm in school.

My name is Kaitlynn Whitten and I’m 18 years old from Macon, Georgia. When I was five years old, my parents lost custody of me to the State of Georgia and I ended the foster care system. It was a tough time and my therapists recommended to my foster parents that I find a hobby. They signed me up for horseback riding lessons and I fell in love with horses and eventually with cattle. I started out learning to ride horses, then how to care for them and now I teach others the how to love, care and ride their horses. The horses provide me with unconditional love, they’re always happy to see you, you never have to wonder how they’re feeling or what they’re thinking – they show you everything. Being around horses and working with them has helped me realize that I want to have a stable, financially secure future. The way that I want to accomplish this is by attending Abraham Baldwin Agriculture College (ABAC) in Tifton, Georgia and study Livestock Production to work in the reproduction side of the livestock industry. My goals are to 1- Attend college at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College to study Livestock production and graduate with no debt. I want my horse, Casino, to go to college with me. 2 - I want to have my own business working with cattle and horses. Eventually, I want to own my own breeding clinic. 3 - I want to own my own farm and my own car. I want to have my own horses and cattle. 4 - I want to live debt free for as much of my life as I possibly can. 5 - I want to be happy in my work, happy in my personal life and help others to be happy too. I'm a hard worker. I know I’m going to have to work hard for those goals and I’m ready to do that. I'm asking for your help to be able to pay for college, so I don't have go into debt. My grades tanked in 10th grade. We had moved from the school I had attended all my life to a new school. I've worked really hard to get and keep my grades up. It was really tough moving, but I got over myself and got it together to get my grades up. One thing I’ve learned so far in life is that no matter what it throws at you, you can always turn that to a positive. Just keep going. As long as you’re going, you’re moving in the right direction.