A series to share #smiles across our community through the achievements of our local youth, brought to you by Olsen Orthodontics.
Written by Randy Tucker
Riverton High School senior Dani Santee has signed with Casper College to compete on the Thunderbird Livestock Judging Team. Santee is an experienced livestock judge who began her career long ago as an eight-year-old in 4H.
She had several schools, including the University of Wyoming and Northwest Community College in Powell, contact her about a judging scholarship, but chose the T-Birds.
“I’ve always been interested in Casper,” Santee said. “I’ve been going to judging contests there for a long time. I was already thinking that’s where I wanted to go.”
Thinking about a college is one thing, visiting the campus and meeting the coaches and team members is another.
“I really liked the culture of their school,” Santee said. “They have a really strong ag program. They’re a great outlet school for judging on a university team. Their culture and their team were interesting to me.”
In livestock judging, four different species are judged: cattle, sheep, hogs and goats.
“My specialty lies in the cattle realm. I’ve always been more interested in cattle.”
Judges have their strengths and challenges. Santee is an articulate young woman who expresses herself well, so her forte isn’t a surprise.
“I’ve been the strongest in the reasons room,” she said.
At Riverton High School, she played volleyball and soccer her freshman and sophomore years and was active in the student council, where she is currently vice president, and in the National Honou Society.
FFA is the organization she was most involved in. She carries a 3.8 grade point average.
She joined FFA in 7th grade, where she served as vice-president. In 8th grade, she was chapter president.
In her sophomore year, she served as chapter secretary and was a vice-president during her junior and senior years.
Santee is a skilled, gifted speaker, and she placed fifth in Wyoming as a freshman in the Creed Contest.
“I’ve continued to do prepared speaking for the rest of the years,” Santee said.
She plans to become an ag teacher.
“There are so many people I could thank, my big people are both my parents and my aunt Laura,” Santee said. “They spent a lot of time hauling me across the state. Katie Anderson has been my number one supporter even when it got hard for me.”
She plans to attend Texas Tech University after graduating from Casper College.
“I went to a meats judging camp there in 8th grade, and I fell in love with the school,” Santee said. “The culture of the ag department is exciting. Everyone in their ag department is connected across the board; they have a strong community. It’s something I really appreciate.”
Dani is the daughter of Clint and Tanya Santee.