Congrats to our 2019 DCSWGA Scholarship winners!
Caroline Lafferty: 1st Place Scholarship
My name is Caroline Lafferty. I am currently seventeen years old and a senior at Maple Hill High School. I live in Schodack Landing, NY, which is in the northern part of Columbia County. I am currently enrolled in several AP classes along with several college in the high school classes. Both of these types of classes allow me to earn college credit in the subject area of the class, while taking the class at a reduced price or taking an exam to be exempt from having to take that class in college. I will be attending Cornell University in the fall of 2019 and will be majoring in Animal Science. I have grown up with sheep since the day I was born and to this day they are still my favorite animals to be around. I have always been involved with sheep but it wasn’t until I began showing sheep that I realized my true passion for sheep. I have grown up in the Columbia County 4-H program which has allowed me the opportunity to grow and diversify my flock. When I first became involved with sheep, my flock consisted of mostly natural colored medium wool sheep that were crosses of Corriedales and Rambouillets. Over the years I mixed in a few Romney crosses and 7 years ago I added the first purebred white Romney to my flock. Along with my sheep, I currently work at Drumm Veterinary Hospital after school as a Veterinary Assistant. When I’m not at the vet hospital or with my sheep, I can be found working at either Dutch Hollow Farm or Fox Hollow Farm. I enjoy all aspects of agriculture and I hope to pursue a career in the agricultural industry.
2nd Place 2019 Scholarship winner: Sarah Cole
My name is Sarah Cole and I am this year’s president of the Golden Fleece 4-H sheep club. Through my years in 4-H, and growing up as a third generation shepherd, I have been given many opportunities: Member of the Dutchess County Teen Ambassadors and with this group, traveled to Austria to learn about agriculture practices there; attend 4-H STEM camps, help out with 4-H events; attend a 4-H Animal Science 10-week program among many other amazing opportunities. I will be attending SUNY Cobleskill this fall as I work towards becoming a Veterinarian. Thank you for helping me towards this goal!
Congratulations to Jessica Ruger, the 2018 Scholarship Winner!
My name is Jessica Rugar, I am eighteen years old and am currently a high school senior in Millbrook High school. I am currently in the Bridging Program at Dutchess Community College. This means that I am taking soley college level classes during my High School senior year. I will be attending Johnson and Wales University in Providence, Rhode Island and will be double majoring in Baking and Pastry and Food and Beverage Entrepreneurship. Raising sheep has been a very important aspect of my life for the past nine years. It has taught me about responsibility, and the hard work and the determination it takes to reach my goals. Since then, I have been very active in the sheep community of Dutchess County. I was the Sheep and Wool Ambassador for Dutchess County for two years (2016-2017). During that time I participated in the Ag-literacy program, which consisted of reading to elementary schools about agriculture, including sheep, apples and grapes. I also visited local daycares and preschools with a bottle lamb. Currently along with my sheep I am working two jobs in the food industry. The first is at the Millbrook Golf and Tennis Club as a prep and line cook. This has given me varied experience, and has allowed me to work in a fast paced environment. The second job is at the Me-Oh-My Cookie Company. I believe that these jobs give me unique and helpful insight into what I am to expect in the future.
I currently attend Northern Oklahoma College in Tonkawa Oklahoma, where I am studying Animal Science with plans to turn it into an Ag Leadership Degree.