My senior year, I had the chance to intern on our farm with my dad. That experience led me to getting more involved and discovering how much I enjoyed this type of work. I learned hands-on skills like giving shots, cutting bulls, and rationing feed, and discovered how much I enjoyed the vet work—though I knew I didn’t want to be a veterinarian. I started college thinking I’d go into animal pharmaceutical sales, but quickly realized that career would require me to move away from home, something I wasn’t willing to do. I’ve always been close to my family and wanted to stay in my hometown close to the farm.

Many guest speakers in college said you had to move around to succeed, and that never felt right to me—until a Sigma Alpha speaker changed my perspective. She returned home to farm and reminded me that it is okay to want to farm and to do so as a female, even if you don’t see many others doing the same.