In 2018 we founded the Beaver Dam Farm Sunflower Scholarship opportunity. We wanted to provide 2, $500 scholarships, one to each high school in the County, to a deserving senior. This scholarship would honor the past, present and future farmers of Beaver Dam Farm. In order to apply a student must be attending college in an ag related study or be going into an ag field directly out of school. Read more about this years JRHS winner, Audrey Fleming!
COLLEGE YOU PLAN TO ATTEND AND MAJOR:
University of Mount Olive: Pre-vet Bioscience
WHEN DID YOU DEVELOP AN INTEREST IN THE AGRICULTURAL FIELD?
I have always loved the outdoors and growing plants, at the age of three I rode my first horse and fell in love. Ever since I was 3, I said I wanted to be a vet, through the years I have gone from not being sure what type of vet, to wanting to work on small animals, to deciding on large animals, then deciding that I wanted to specialize in equine species. When I moved to Virginia in my Freshman year, got involved in FFA, I understood what it meant to love your community. I felt so connected and like I belonged somewhere, that is when I decided that I would love to come back, open my own vet hospital, work with other vets, large and small alike, and provide veterinary care for all the animals of Botetourt at an affordable price.
PLEASE DESCRIBE YOUR AGRICULTURAL EXPERIENCES:
My main agriculture experiences started when I moved to Virginia my Freshman year of high school. I joined FFA at the request of the current Ag. teacher. I did a soils competition and then joined in on helping with Know, Grow, Go. I stuck with FFA, did a poultry competition under the guidance of our long term sub. I ran for an FFA Officer position, got positioned as a Student Advisor for my Sophomore year. During that year, I did a few leadership competitions and a few animal and soils competitions. I helped at all the fairs and festivals. My Junior year I got elected President of the FFA chapter. During this time, we didn’t get to do all our common activities, but I knew we needed to try our best to keep agriculture alive in our school system, so the officer team all worked together and we came up with the plan of doing a virtual Know, Grow, Go. This allowed the second graders in Botetourt the chance to plant flowers, learn about cows, and talk to the FFA Officers and ask questions. Halfway through the year, I was offered a full time job as a farm hand in Ohio, so I moved up there and worked 50+ a week while finishing Junior year online. Many of our FFA activities were canceled due to the Pandemic, so there was not much we could do as a group. Half way through Senior year, I moved back, the current FFA President decided to hand it to me, so that he could learn more about the job and understand what his role as President would be. As an officer this year, we are working on bringing back a full on Know, Grow, Go this year with all the elementary schools and activities we used to have. I have also been involved in lots of ag. based competitions.
We also got horses my Freshman year of high school but had to get rid of them my Junior years. During that time, however, we had a foal, we trained and groomed the big gentle giants, Luke, Donna, and Jack (Percherons). I also had a bird dog that was training, he was being trained to sniff out birds, point them, and retrieve them. Along with that, we raised our own birds that we used, quail. We had training quail for when we trained the dogs, and we had egg quails that we would collect the mini eggs from. We had one chicken that I had saved from the highway, and brought home. During this time I also got my certificate as a veterinarian assistant and helped nurse a few quail back to health from broken legs or a fungus eating away at their wings.
PLEASE LIST ANY AGRICULTURAL SHOWS AND/OR AWARDS YOU HAVE PARTICIPATED IN OR RECEIVED:
Freshman Year:
-State Soils Competition: 4th
-State Poultry Competition: 32nd
-State Employment Skills Competition: 9th
-Greenhand Award
Sophomore Year:
-State Soils Competition: 9th
-State Fair Forestry Competition: 82nd
-Area Division Prepared Public Speaking: 2nd
Junior Year:
-State Fair Equine Competition: Unknown
Senior Year:
-State Stockman’s Competition: 192nd
-Area Prepared Public Speaking: 2nd
PLEASE LIST ANY OTHER HOBBIES AND INTERESTS:
When I am not with animals, training them or healing them, I enjoy painting scenery, cooking international foods, and enjoying nature with my friends or by myself. Mountains are some of my favorite paintings to make, but I also enjoy animals and FFA themed paintings. I also really like to cook authentic Mexican food with garden fresh veggies and home grown meats, but I take what I can get when I need it. I love to go on hikes up Sharptop or into the woods. Friends and I have great bonding experience hiking and spending time in nature, no phones, just our surroundings and our laughter. When I am by myself, a nice walk in the woods is always soothing and mind clearing, perfect of any break from the stressful life of college classes on my computer.
