However, this year she is showing her animals for the last time.
“This fair year has kind of just been a blur for me, trying to get everything done, trying to process the fact that I’m never gonna be able to show again,” she said.
By midday Tuesday, Hawkins had already lost her voice, though the sacrifice was for a good cause - cheering on her younger brother in the calf scramble Sunday evening.
Hawkins has participated in 4-H since she was nine years old, but started showing hogs as early as two, and cattle when she was six. Growing up on her family’s farm, Hawkins comes from a family with a wealth of experience raising and showing animals - knowledge she is now passing on to the next generation.
“My favorite part, especially since I’ve gotten older, is helping the little kids and going out there and seeing their improvement in the ring,” she said. “Two of the kids that I helped actually just won their showmanship division, and that was just a very heartwarming thing, that even though I’m aging out, I’m still helping create a new generation of livestock showmen.”
Having graduated with the class of 2025 in May, she plans to study agribusiness and animal production at Black Hawk College in Illinois, and to join their livestock judging team. Eventually, Hawkins has a goal of going into sales and distribution of veterinary medicine.
“Agriculture has been such a big part of my life, and that has shaped me into the person I am today, and I could not imagine my life without it,” Hawkins said.
Her advice to the younger members of 4-H clubs: Enjoy each and every moment.
“I remember being nine years old in the barn and saying, ‘I can’t wait to be one of the older kids, like helping everyone in showmanship and being someone that the younger kids look up to,’” she said. “And now that I am that, I wish I could go back and enjoy those years when I had them.”
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