Jersey Juniors Awarded Scholarships for 2023-24 School Year

Vos has the Jersey breed to thank for all the opportunities she has had in the showring, classroom, and overseas. Outside of her family farm, Vos has exhibited her cattle at local, state and national shows. This past year her hard work was recognized with four titles after leading Proud Heritage Die-Hard JuJu in the ring. She has also had the opportunity to serve as the 2022 Wisconsin Jersey Queen, be active in the Wisconsin Junior Jersey Breeders Association, and participate in programs offered through the American Jersey Cattle Association including interning with the Jersey Marketing Services and participating in the Jersey Youth Academy.

In addition to participating in this list of organizations, she has also spent time in leadership positions. She has served as treasurer, secretary, and was given the 2021 James W. Crowley 4-H Leadership Award through her 4-H group. She was also the secretary for her high school’s National Honors Society. During her time as the 2020-2021 Manitowoc County Dairy Princess, she was able to represent dairy producers at a variety of events, some of which had an audience number of about 5,000. She has continued her involvement at the University of Wisconsin-Madison by holding multiple positions in multiple organizations including the Association of Women in Agriculture where she served as Sunshine Coordinator, Treasure and Breakfast on the Farm Set-Up Chair.

Her involvement in her extracurricular activities have prepared her for her goal of earning a degree in Agricultural Business Management. She was able to learn management, public speaking, and taken advantage of networking opportunities to name a few of these skills. After using these skills to gain her initial education, she will go on to earn her masters in the same field. It would be her dream to return to the AJCA as an employee before returning to her home farm.

Rockwell’s extracurricular and Jersey activities have also played a part in her preparation of reaching these goals. Her high school activities included student council, the Environmental Club and National Honors Society. She also stayed busy with her 4-H group at the same time as these organizations. 4-H allowed her to connect to her agricultural passion, while the other organizations taught her skills such as leadership and the importance of conservation practices for farmers. Her interest in extracurriculars continued into her college years. She is a third-year member of the Virgina Tech Dairy Cattle Judging Team and a student officer for the ADSAUSD. Rockwell is also on Virgina Tech’s Dairy Quiz Bowl team who are current national champions. Through these groups she has learned decision making, speaking and dairy judging.

Through her time at these organizations, she has worked towards and held multiple leadership positions. Her last two years of 4-H, she spent her time as club president. She held the same position for her school’s National Honors Society. She was recently successful in another presidential running for the 2023-2024 Dairy Club at Virginia Tech.

Rockwell has a long list of prior Jerey experience that has helped her earn these presidential duties. She is a fifth generation farmer on her small Pennsylvania farm. She was responsible for daily chores for the cattle, but was left out of the breeding process. Missing out on this experience did not stop her from seeing the hard work that came from her family member’s breeding decisions. She was always active in the show industry on the local, regional, state, and national levels. She has also participated in Jersey Youth Academy and competed in the 2022 National Jersey Queen Contest.

She worked hard to earn her spot at the University of Wisconsin- Madison. Her high school did not have a large agricultural presence, but this did not stop her from attending conventions and shows to keep her connected to the industry. She had also served as president of the California Junior Jersey Cattle Club for three terms as well as a variety of other positions, participated in the Jersey Youth Academy, and competed at the state, regional, and national level for the Jersey Queen Program. Her involvement in agriculture was able to bloom once she did reach university. She is a member of the college’s dairy judging team, where she was selected as the 2022-2023 Outreach Officer and chair member of the 21st Badger Invitational Sale. She also took part in the Association of Women in Agriculture and a member of the University of Wisconsin- Madison Collegiate Farm Bureau. These organizations were great for connecting and networking with those who have similar interests as her.

To prepare for these organizations and develop her original interest in the agriculture industry, Konyn was gifted a Jersey heifer of her own in 2013. Her herd has now grown to 60 and is still developing. The quality of her cattle is recognized in shows at the local, state and national levels. She has had total control over all decisions related to her herd from finances to marketing and everything in between.

Mudd has participated in Jersey activities for a few years now. Some of these activities include National Jersey Queen in 2022, participating in National Jersey Academy, and a long list of show titles she has won in the past. She has also shown her dedication to agriculture by taking office in the organizations she has participated in. These office positions range from president to reporter and from 2023 to 2017. Her love for the agriculture industry did not stop after starting her college career, instead it grew. She was a member of and president of the Purdue Dairy Club in 2023 after holding the Showmanship Chair position the year prior, and a sister in Sigma Alpha Professional Sorority which has an agriculture foundation.

Her involvement is not limited to agriculture, she has also taken part in organizations in high school and college that focus on her other interests. She was a member of the National Honors Society and involved in multiple faith-based organizations.

Mudd is in the process of finishing up her time at Purdue, but already has plans on how she will spend her time after earning her degree. She wants to have her own creamery with 30 to 40 head which she will use to connect consumers with the benefits of Jersey milk. She also wants to work for the Jersey Association as an appraiser to continue learning from fellow breeders.

In addition to her involvement o her family farm, she also shows her cattle at the local, state and national level, is active in the Pennsylvania State Breed Organization, and served as the Pennsylvania Jersey Queen.

Her leadership does not stop after serving as queen, she has also held positions in the Troy FFA Chapter, Bradford County FFA and LeRoy Community 4-H Club. She was also an advocate for dairy farmers as the Bradford County Dairy Ambassador from 2018 to 2022. Her titles range from president to reporter with each position holding a wide range of responsibilities.

These extracurricular activities molded her goals by helping her realize the agriculture industry is something she wants to pursue. She was also able to learn valuable life skills such as management, how to work with people, and public speaking.

In addition to her Animal Science major, she is also minoring in Communications. Her upcoming classes have her studying hard in classes like biology, chemistry, and introductory communication classes. Her dream is to take what she has already learned and what she is learning in her classes to eventually work as a communications manager within the Jersey Industry while also continuing her own herd. She will use her herd to sell products and educate consumers about the industry.

Silva did not start in the Jersey industry, but knew she was destined to from the age of five. She has been able to grow her herd to 175 Jerseys while also holding leadership positions at the California Junior Jersey Association, was California Jersey Queen, and participated in Jersey Youth Academy.

Her other involvement and leadership positions date back to 2008 when she became a member of the Shiloh 4-H. Most of her activities are Jersey and agriculture based, but she was also involved in groups she connected with a personal interest. In high school, she was a member of the varsity golf team and yearbook staff.

Silva has had an interest in judging and has even been an inspiration to others. Her father had been a dairy judging coach, so she has been a part of this activity since the sixth grade. Her favorite part of judging comes from watching the success of others and the joy that washes over them when they reach their goals.

Johnson’s Jersey activities start at home where she is the co-owner of Johnson Acres. She is a ninth-generation dairy farmer working on this first-generation farm. She is responsible for daily activities such as milking and feeding, but she also makes big decisions related to developing show strings, nutrition plans and breeding. Outside of her family farm, she was also a senior member of her 4-H and Footin’ to Hoofin’. She has passed on her Jersey knowledge by mentoring younger 4-H members, one of which who won his showman class at the 2022 Deerfield Fair by practicing what she taught him.

Her interest in Fire Science was also one that has been in development before starting her next step in her education. Johnson served as the president/chief of the Northwood Fire Explorers. Responsibilities in this role include managing communications, planning training, and conducting fundraising efforts. A few other activities in this program include participating in drills, tests, and active fire and EMS scenes.

Her firefighting career will allow her to continue her Jersey passion while not relying on solely the farm to provide for herself. Both industries have a heavy importance of family. She is determined to combine her fire service and Jersey families in order to have the best of both worlds.

She has been an advocate and dedicated worker of agriculture. She represented the dairy industry through farm tours and meetings with Senator Charles Grassley, earned a certification in Artificial Insemination, was an entrepreneur with her livestock, herdswomen of Grand Central Jerseys dairy farm, and participated in multiple dairy clubs. While staying active in these programs, she was also able to make the Dean’s List at Iowa State University and completed 90 hours of training to teach religion to children.

In addition to her hands on learning of the agriculture industry, she also participated in 4-H in high school and participated in dairy events through her college organizations, Dairy Science Club and Dairy Product Evaluation Club. She intends to continue participating in related organizations as she continues her education.

Hettinga is currently working towards her Master of Science in Agriculture Education at South Dakota State University. She has had a connection to agriculture since she was born when her family started their farm in 2001. With the farm’s 40 registered Jerseys and her own small herd, she was able to compete in contests such as Pot O’ Gold and National Jersey Queen, and participated in 4-H, FFA, and Jersey Youth Academy. Her original plan was to become a dairy vet, but by going on farm tours and listening to speakers from Jersey Youth Academy, she realized her true passion was to connect people and educate them on the agriculture industry.

To gain skills to help her achieve her career goals, she decided to take on leadership roles. Hettinga served as Chaplain, Vice President, and President of her FFA Chapter, drum major and section leader in high school, treasurer of National Honors Society, and went on to become Historian at her college dairy club and a CAFES Ambassador. These organizations helped her practice being a leader, educating, and supporting others which are all qualities of a successful student in her field.

He had grown up on his family farm working with Jerseys sizing from calves to full grown. In 2007 he added showing Jersey to his list of interests and has been doing it every year since.

His involvement and leadership through organizations such as student council, National Honors Society, 4-H, and being the captain of his basketball team have all prepared him for the tasks he will be facing at Purdue University. He has gotten firsthand experience juggling multiple tasks that require hard work, determination, dedication, and specific skills in woodworking, dairy and electricity for his degree along the way.