forever grateful for the lessons and memories I have from that place. It came down to the wire on where I was heading for senior college, but a late spring phone call from Skyler Scotten was enough to convince me to head west to Lubbock for the next couple of years. I was hard pressed to believe my senior college experience would exceed the time that I had in junior college, yet Lubbock would prove to be some of the most fun and formative years to date. For starters, having Skyler as a coach and mentor was the first step to honing my eye as an evaluator, yet Skyler is unique in the way he genuinely cares for his students and wishes the very best for them. While we did not get it done in the end, my team was named high team overall at six different contests and I left my time as a contestant behind with more friends and memories than I could have ever hoped. However, I was not ready to leave livestock judging. As cliché as it sounds, I wanted to come back and serve as an assistant coach and help students achieve the same goals and dreams that I had. Skyler was gracious enough to allow me to come on as his first graduate assistant while I worked on my master’s degree in ruminant nutrition. What I did not realize is that there was still a lot for me to learn as a new coach. Even through all the highs and lows, I cannot understate how beneficial it was to have my coaching partner show
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on judging at the collegiate level. I specifically remember being at Texas Tech’s summer judging camp and Dr. Rathmann extending his support and belief in me after he listened to what would have surely been a sub-par market steer set. What Dr. Rathmann did not know at the time is that his words would inspire me all the way through my high school judging career until my time through the college ranks. As I mentioned previously, you are only as good as the people you surround yourself with. I was fortunate to start my collegiate career at Blinn College in Brenham, Texas, judging for Quest Newberry, Adrian Austin, and Clayton Schram. If you
know anything about collegiate judging, all three of my coaches are household names that have storied histories as successful contestants. My team was small and green, but all hungry to put forth our best at each contest. I started fast in the fall of my sophomore year, being named high individual at the National Barrow Show, Aksarben, Flint Hills, State Fair of Texas, and eventually the American Royal in Kansas City. But perhaps my favorite memory from my time in Junior College was closing out our careers being named high team overall at both San Antonio and Houston. For a rag-tag group of Texans, those two wins meant a little more to us. I look back fondly at my time in Brenham and am
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