There was a time very early on in my life when I felt utterly hopeless and cast aside. For being only of the tender age of four, I had resigned myself to the possibility that my current circumstances would be a constant for the entire duration of my life. Perhaps the fear, anxiety, and cold pit in my stomach would be my normal. There seemed to be no visible escape from the misery I was experiencing every day. But there was. My escape came in the form of Colorado. Beautiful, vast, awe-inspiring Colorado. Being carted across the country to a new, strange place had been scary for my younger version, but Mom had seemed convicted in her decision to leave everything in Maryland behind. I trusted her judgment implicitly. How glad I was that I did. The sign read "Welcome to Colorful Colorado." I'd never heard of Colorado. Despite that, the further we drove into this new state, the less foreign it felt. I felt as if I could breathe freely for the first time in a long, long while. "Where are we?" Mom had smiled then. "Home now." I didn't question her because her answer felt true. I belonged here, in this place of clean air and untouched land stretching for miles. Home became a ranch in Stoneham, Colorado: a little white house, a big red barn, and 160 acres of prairie grassland. The man I now called Dad and the girls I now called sisters became my family. It was that man who taught me how to love the land we lived on and the land we explored on the weekends. He didn't hesitate to take me under his wing and teach me the arts of hunting, fishing, arrowhead hunting, river walking, storm chasing, and so much more. I quickly fell in love with being outdoors as a result of his time spent with me. Mom, who used to put me in sun dresses and tie my hair in bows, rapidly realized that my wardrobe needed to be exchanged for jeans, boots, and t-shirts as a result of all my new favorite activities. As I've grown up, my love for spending my everyday outdoors has only had time to grow and influence my career and lifestyle choices. My day starts before sunrise, saddling my horse to check cattle, and ends after the stars have come out, only heading in for dinner after checking over tractors and ATVs. Both of my parents have strongly encouraged this manner of living for me, nurturing my appreciation for the Western agriculturalist way of life in God's country. From livestock to crops, I've had the opportunity to dabble in everything through my community's support, 4-H, and FFA. Apart from organization and association-sanctioned activities, my hobbies remain closely connected to what my dad first introduced me to in the very beginning. Packing and camping trips up into the mountains remain some of my favorite ways to spend a holiday. Fun with my friends means spending the day fishing at our favorite honey holes. Bonding with my Dad means arrowhead hunting the South Platte in the afternoon when we've got a few free hours. Clearing my head means loading up my horse and driving out to the range to photograph Mustangs. I'm leaving home for college in a couple of months to pursue a major in Equine Industry Management and a minor in Agribusiness. My passion is to share my love of the outdoors and horses by training Mustangs and professionally guiding packing trips. Eventually, I would love to own and operate my own ranch.

"You evidently have a deep rooted love for the ag-based lifestyle. Do you have plans to center your future career and other endeavors around it?" The judge from my first FFA speaking contest likely didn't think his question would continue to stick in my head years after I answered him. Or maybe he intended it to. I'm not entirely sure I'll ever know the answer to that in particular, but I know for certain that I have made numerous life decisions since that have oriented around that very same inquiry. I've spent the past eighteen years of my life surrounded by members of the agriculture industry. From the beef producers to the welders and from the corn crop farmers to the diesel technicians, I've had a never ending source of inspiration to look up to in every corner. Being from rural northeastern Colorado, I realized from a very young age the impact that local agriculturalists have on their community, state, country, and even the world. I'm lucky to have been raised on the farming/ranching lifestyle, to have been taught the solid morals, values, and everything that matters most in life from the heroes in steel toed boots and dusty, felt cowboy hats. My family and I raise Charolais cattle and train horses on 160 acres outside of a small town called Stoneham, whose staple is the little white church our community comes together every Sunday after working the land and our livestock to pray over each other and thank the Lord for blessing us with the lifestyle we lead. I'm not usually one to brag, but I can't help but be of the opinion that as far as agricultural upbringings go, I've been brought up with some of the best opportunities to become involved and make my own mark with such like-minded industry leaders all around me. My FFA advisors and community members have always been invested in my success, never not having faith in my ability to grow and become my own kind of leader in the agricultural world. After years and years of rodeo arenas, hay fields, and pasture lands, it was rather simple for me to come to the conclusion to attend college for the purpose of furthering my agricultural education in a setting I would thrive in. I'm beginning my next adventure at the end of August inside another small town, inside another agriculturally oriented state. For the past two years, my sights have been set on fulfilling my dreams by attending the Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture based out of Curtis, Nebraska. Their one of a kind equine program is something the younger version of me imagined existed only in a perfect world. I'll be majoring in Equine Industry Management and minoring in agribusiness. I've had a passion for horses from the very beginning and experienced the majority of my most cherished moments from the back of one. I've been blessed to have been able to shadow several cow/ranch horse industry professionals the past few years and know without a doubt that I've found my niche. Attending my choice of college allows me to further involve myself agriculturally in several ways through different clubs I plan to be a part of such as the ranch horse and stock dog teams, collegiate FFA, Women in Ag, and Collegiate Cattlemen's. After completing my degree and my post-graduation internships, my end goal is to make my dream of running my own performance cow horse operation my reality in correlation with my own cattle herd to continue my family's legacy of beef production.