My name is Reed, and since I was a little girl I have always known that I would like to start my own farm. I grew up on a half acre in Monmouth County with a sizeable home vegetable and flower garden, yielding hundreds of tomatoes, squash, cucumber, herbs, and many other forms of produce. If you can name it, odds are my family has grown it. My grandmother bred distinguished Tennessee Walking Horses in Durham, Connecticut, and since I could sit up you could find me in a saddle. I majored in both Equine & Production Animal Science and Agriculture & Food Systems at Rutgers University, starting in 2018 and graduating in May of 2023. Throughout my time at Rutgers I participated in hands-on animal husbandry practicums for many livestock species including horses, sheep, goats, swine, cattle, and chickens. Working with animals comes easily to me and I enjoy every minute of it. During the summer of 2021, I interned for the fourth largest poultry producer in the country: Mountaire Farms. I gained experience at grain elevators throughout Delaware and Maryland in which scientific lab equipment was used to test quality of grain. I was able to see the entire process of grain storage from harvesting in the field with local farmers to formulating different poultry feeds at the feed mills. I helped the company create a map and presentation of my research to provide more information on the knowledge of the locations of grain facilities on the Delmarva shore. Summer 2022 I returned to Mountaire Farms again as an intern, this time in the Grow Out department. This department oversees the growth of the broilers from newly hatched chicks to the day they leave the farm. Due to the avian influenza epidemic that was going on at the time, there was a heavy focus on biosecurity which was followed to a T. I formed relationships with contract growers, flock supervisors, farmhands, and the birds themselves as I would check on their health and growth progress every day. I learned how imperative these relationships are to our country's food system. Upon my graduation from Rutgers University School of Environmental and Biological Sciences in May 2023, I took a seven month long internship in rural North Dakota. I, along with one other intern, was responsible for the care and management of many animals both in pasture and in the barn. I worked every day, often for more than a week without a day off, so I am used to hard work. The ranch was home to over 1,000 head of cow-calf pairs and 34 broodmare and foal pairs. The cattle needed to be consistently rotated due to grazing and rangeland management which was done on horseback. The broodmares were split into six groups and sent out to pasture with one of six AQHA stallions. Following mother nature, foaling and calving was done in the spring. The mares and foals were brought back to the barn in the fall to begin the halter breaking process, which us interns became fully in charge of. Once halter breaking was complete and buyer safety could be ensured, the foals were sold to their new owners. Other experience I gained at this internship includes hauling trailers, water tanks, building and fixing durable livestock fencing, vaccinating animals, maintaining biosecurity, routine vet visits, wound treatment skills, grooming, and maintaining grounds. I am currently working at an equine veterinary clinic as a technician to increase my knowledge of all things medical when it comes to horses and gain experience in the equine industry.