Growing up...
I grew up on a large farm outside of the small town of Elkton, SD. Having four other siblings, there was never a dull moment. I am directly in the middle with and older sister Sara who is 24, and older brother Tommy who is 23, a younger sister Molly who is 16, and a younger brother Billy who is 14. Being the youngest for five years, I had my share of being picked on by the older ones. It seems that whenever I would do what they told me to, we would somehow always get into trouble. When the last two siblings came along, I was well trained to give torture as I had recieved when I was the youngest.
Farm Life...
On our farm we grow corn, soybeans, alfalfa, and some spring wheat. We also have around a thousand head of cattle all together. I consider myself to be one of the luckiest people to have been able to grow up where I have. There was never a dull moment. Our farm is one of the most important things in my life and I would like to evetually move back home to play a bigger part in its operation. Right now, my dad and older brother are the ones who run the show (with my mom being the backbone and keeping track of all of the paperwork and financial areas.)
High School...
I went to Elkton High School which was the same building as the middle school and elemetary school. K-12 there was probably around 300 students. Elkton, population approx. 700, was very small so everyone knew everything about everyone else. I graduated in 2007 with a class size of 31, a considerably large class for our town. In high school, I participated in cross country, volleyball, basketball, and track and field. My favorite was track and field where I became a polevaulter, winning the State A meet my senior year. I loved taking any art class I could and that was when I figured out that the art field is what my future would present.
College Life...
I am currently a senior here at BHSU majoring in Art Eduaction. Because I figured there probably isn't a big demand for art teachers, I am also getting a minor in coaching. I also am on the BHSU Track and Field team. Polevaulting is my main event but I tend to do a little bit of everything else as well. The heptathlon is one of the events that I participate in which it is made up of seven other events including hurdles, high jump, long jump, javelin, shot put, 200 M dash, and the dreaded 800 M run. Although I am considered a senior and I will be done with track after this year, I still have another year of school and hope to graduate in the spring of 2012.
Married Life...
This summer has been a busy one for me. Not only did my older brother get married but I did as well. I was married to Cole Nicholas on July 17th and I could not be happier. Cole and I met through a couple friends the beginning of our sophmore year here at BHSU, even though he has been a thrower on the track team since our freshmen year. The throwers always intimidated me so I figured that's why I never got to know him. After finally introducing ourselves, he later told me he liked me in which case I responded that I did not think of him that way. He was very persistent and I guess you could say he changed my mind. Cole works full time in the technology department in the basement of the library on campus as the Network Specialist, on top of being a full time student and track athlete. So if you have any computer problems, you know where to go!