Multiple Year Winner
Winners Gallery
PHOTOS
Francesca Thompson
12th Grade, AL
ATTRIBUTES
Community Service
Member of 4-H club since 2006 and held officer positions. I learned to work hard, get along with others, responsibility, mentoring, care for horses, did fundraisers, raised $4,000 yearly, gifts for nursing homes, cakes for firemen, shoeboxes for troops, & Cowboy Day for special needs children. My favorite is holding them in my arms riding and feeling them go from scared to relaxed. I teach a horse is an animal with feelings not a vehicle, safety and proper equipment. I have mothers thank me for taking care of their child and their child wants to be like me. I learned the horse from head to tail and to look for illness daily. Emergencies can come up at any moment so stay calm. All this makes me confident in myself and my abilities. I know it will impact me for the rest of my life.
Faith
I have been going to my church since age four. I love my church family and attend every service unless I am ill. I work in several ministries – food, nursery, drama, youth, outreach, summer bible school, audio-visual, children’s church, and Sunday school. My faith is very important to me and I am sometimes shunned due to my honesty. I try to be an example to the younger children in my church as I know they are watching me. Especially at this time, I am deeply aware of younger teen girls who are watching my every move and listening to my words. It is a awesome responsibility. It is a great feeling when the Pastor asks me to substitute in a Sunday school class by myself. I plan on becoming a veterinarian to take care of God’s creatures as they cannot speak for themselves.
Work
I began working at age 11 in a barn in exchange for riding lessons. It was hard work but I learned so much about dependability, working in all types of weather, helping all types of people, working in very dirty conditions and the sense of accomplishment. I have also been an unpaid intern with two veterinarians to prepare for my career as a veterinarian one day. Currently, I have been working for just over a year in my first paid job as a sales associate in a tack shop. I have learned much including stocking, sales, money changing, display arrangements, shipping, receiving, working with difficult customers and several customers at a time. I have customers ask for me by name and it makes me feel good. I even received a Christmas bonus this year.
