When I was younger, I enjoyed reading the bumper stickers on passing cars. The stickers that struck me the most read “No Farms, No Food, Know your Farmer, Know your Food” or “Support Local Farms” or “Be Your Own Farmer.” I felt like these bumper stickers meant something important to our world and I wanted to be a part of it! I had an advantage. My grandfather is a third-generation farmer. I was blessed to be able to explore his farm and the different ways he encouraged the community to be a part of his farm. My favorite place was the farm petting zoo. I would spend my weekends during the busy season showing off the goats, rabbits, and chickens. I was proud to be able to share my passion with others. As I got older, I decided to embrace my passion and I enrolled in the Agricultural Sciences program at the Cecil County School of Technology. Through this program, I was able to visit a variety of local agricultural industries and farms. It opened my eyes to a life that I had only thought was possible in my dreams! I was drawn to the daily care and management of livestock, especially cows and goats. I learned about different ways local farms can impact the health of their communities and help to reduce food insecurity. I wanted to be part of the solution to so many problems facing my community. What if I could make a difference in the daily lives of those living near me? What if I could give another little girl the opportunity to dream about being a farmer too? My dream is to have my own dairy farm where I can use sustainable practices to increase access to affordable food and provide health care alternatives to my community. My dream includes working with local food banks to supply fresh dairy products to those in need, working with local universities and health-based research groups to find ways to use livestock to provide insulin and other medical products at lower costs to those in need, and sharing real world experiences with youth from my community through school and youth program activities. I want to spend my days sharing my passion for the outdoors and inspiring others to be future farmers of America, especially young women. My dream is to support other women reach their dreams in agriculture and livestock by working at a grassroots educational level. I want to offer experiential education programs through the local school system, FFA, and 4-H clubs to empower other girls like me to pursue careers in agriculture. Having hands-on opportunities to learn about caring for cows, pigs, and goats will allow other girls to learn and love working with large animals. I would like to be an adult leader to girls in 4-H and FFA to ensure that their interest in livestock is fueled by a positive role model. By sharing and modeling local and sustainable practices with young women in my community, they will be empowered to be an agricultural leader in their own way. Agriculture needs strong women leaders as much as strong women leaders need agriculture.

When I was a little girl, I enjoyed caring for the animals on my grandfather’s farm. He had a small petting zoo for the customers to visit. I was able to help other children and adults experience and learn about goats, chickens and rabbits. Having this opportunity started my passion for working with livestock and helped me understand the importance of teaching others about where their food comes from. As I grew older, I continued to work as an animal ambassador for my grandfather, but I also started to find new ways to learn about animals. I was able participate in Girl Scouts, FFA and enroll in the Animal Sciences program at Cecil County School of Technology. These experiences fueled my desire to work with livestock as my future career. My dream is work in livestock management to bring responsible livestock practices to my community. I want to work with medical research companies to help find sustainable and affordable medical products such as insulin and value replacement options through the use of livestock. I also want to work with the local school system to promote agriculture education opportunities. In order to reach these goals, I want to earn a bachelors degree in Livestock Management and a minor in Sustainable Agriculture Systems. Receiving this scholarship will make a difference to my success by reducing the amount of debt I will have when I graduate from Delaware Valley University. I can use the scholarship to help pay for books and supplies needed for working in the barns. Once I graduate, I will be able to focus my earnings towards establishing my own farm and livestock herd. I have always been proud of the experiences I have had giving back to my community. One of my favorite volunteer experiences was the Cecil County Rotating Homeless Shelter. My church would sponsor the Rotating Shelter for 2 weeks each winter. My family would prepare and serve dinner to the residents of the shelter at least once during their stay. We would provided fellowship after dinner and on the weekends through doing different activities including play board games, bingo and doing crafts. During this time of fellowship, I learned about the challenges the residents faced in life. From finding work and housing to being able to provide their families with healthy food, it made me appreciate the blessings in my life. Each month, I help my church serve dinner to a low income neighborhood. I help with planning the meals and extra snacks for the families to take home. As I learned more about how sustainable local agriculture can do for reducing health care cost and potential access to better health care products, I thought about the people from the shelter. I want to be the change in my local community to help the low income and homeless families have healthier lives through agriculture.