Age: 17
Parents: Mark and Lisa Whitmore
Hometown: Harrison, Ark.
FFA Chapter: Harrison FFA
Advisors: Andy Treat and Sarah Walker
What is your favorite aspect of agriculture? “I like living on a cattle farm and interacting with horses and cattle, and my showing lamb.”
Who is the most influential person in your life? “Granddad Doc was very important, so much so that I named one of my horses after him when he passed two years ago. He was like me because we both have dominant personalities, which meant he really understood me. We had breakfast every Saturday and he knew how to push me to be the best person I can be. Once, when I was pretty young, he told me he was going to break me in for working outside. He put me to painting a fence when it was 100 degrees. He told me he wanted it done before school started in August. When I told him I might not finish, he said he would be disappointed, which of course worked and pushed me to finish the project. When I did finish it, he told me he was proud of me and the choice that I made in getting it done which, of course, gave me a good work ethic.”
What is your current involvement in agriculture? “I am president of my FFA chapter and have shown lambs the last two years. I also teach horseback riding lessons to kids and am the full-time ranch hand at our family-owned Trinity Ranch as well as working at a local veterinary clinic. My dad is a veterinarian, so he’s pretty busy which means in spring and fall I am in charge of the calving season, as well as daily feeding and putting out hay. Dad and I worked together to administer shots and I help castrate.”
What are your future plans? “I want to be a third-generation veterinarian with my father and grandfather being a veterinarian before me. Maybe someday I could open my own clinic while still having a farm. At this point I am considering the Mississippi State early admission to vet school, and if I am accepted I will automatically already be accepted into their advanced degree veterinary program.”
