And it is....

Lake Land College 

I will be attending Lake Land College in Matton, Illinois this coming fall!! It is a two-year junior college where I plan to be a general agriculture major. I will be a part of the livestock judging team. I then plan to transfer to a senior college to pursue my degree in Agriculture Business and Agriculture Communications. 

The Choices...

They never said making a choice about college was easy, and well they weren’t lying about that. When I started thinking about college I had no idea where I wanted to go...junior college or senior college, stay close or go a distance. In the Fall of 2010 I applied to The Ohio State University, Wilmington College, Morehead State University, University of Kentucky, Purdue University, Black Hawk East, Illinois Central College, Lake Land College, Allen County Community College, Butler Community College and finally Connor’s State College. Undecided right? I 

think so. When it came to narrowing the field down I had to look and what was best for me personally, academically and financially. Did I want to livestock judge? Did I want to save a few bucks on college? Did I want to experience life out of Ohio? I came to the conclusion, YES I did. That quickly narrowed it down to a junior college- Black Hawk East, Illinois Central College, Lake Land College, Allen County Community College, Butler Community College and Connor’s State College. I looked into each one of these schools, visited a few and wrote down the pro’s and con’s of each. Now, it’s time to make the big decision, that is best for me. And when picking a college to go to, it must be where YOU want to go. So it’s my time to decide...guess y’all will know by May 1 what it is. :)

I call her mine..

Passionate.

         Dedicated.

These words define my mom. 

    My mom is a full-time wife, mother and employee of Fender Farms, where the family farrows 90 show pig oriented sows and farm 600 acres of corn and soybeans. The family depends on her to fix every meal, wash our clothes, clean the house, wash the dishes, keep up on the farm records, and pay the bills... a full time job in itself around here. Her job however, doesn't stop there. She is out the door early in the morning to help dad with the daily chores on the farm and stays with him until the day is done. When it is planting and harvest season, she is in the field right beside dad..helping him with anything he needs. 

    Aside from her loyalty to helping my dad, she supports me in everything I do. She is a 4-H advisor in my club, and helps with my FFA Chapter whenever it is needed. I can always count on her to helps me in the barn with my show pigs and chauffeurs baby pigs to local events for kids to see. When I compete in any school, 4-H or FFA event, she is my number one fan.

    Her mothering skills don't stop there. She is in charge of our farrowing unit. She stays by the sows side while farrowing and spends countless hours making sure every baby pig has a healthy start. Some days she is up all night, but never shows how tired she is when she puts my breakfast on the table. 

    Sometimes we don't appreciate what my mother does for this family, operation, and community enough. That all changed when she was diagnosed with cancer in May 2001. When she was too sick and too weak to perform the daily tasks we could always count on, it proved she was a backbone to our lives. We are blessed to have a wife and mother like her and that she is still here with us today, putting her heart into everything she does.