Forging her own path in dairy

ST. JOSEPH, Minn. — Selena Corona dreamt about being a dairy princess when she was young, but she did not think she met the qualifications because she did not grow up on a dairy farm.

That all changed last year when Corona read that the program now accepted those who worked on a dairy farm even if they did not live on one. This set Corona on a mission at the age of 21 to become a dairy princess and a finalist for Princess Kay of the Milky Way.

“It sparked my interest again, and I thought, ‘Hey, I can do this,’” Corona said. “I decided to reach out to my (high school) FFA advisor to see if he knew anyone who would need help with milking or give me the opportunity to work on their farm.”

Today, Corona is a Stearns County dairy princess and one of the 10 young women named as a finalist in the Princess Kay competition. A graduate of Albany Area High School and resident of St. Joseph, she is the daughter of Kelly Corona and Ross Lemke and Steve Corona.

Corona recently completed her junior year at the University of Minnesota where she is pursuing majors in animal science and agricultural communications and marketing. She is also considering becoming a veterinarian down the road.

“I’m leaning towards going into the marketing side for starting a career,” Corona said. “It’s kind of a bit of a life challenge because (vet school) is a lot of school and a lot of money.”

Corona said her appreciation of cows and the dairy industry came through a variety of ways and grew quickly.

“Many of my extended family had dairy farms, and I was always interested in dairy,” Corona said. “A lot of my friends were involved in dairy judging and showing through 4-H, and that made me even more interested. I didn’t realize that I could have joined 4-H as a teenager in high school, so I did not, but I was involved in helping some of my friends on their farms or just going to their shows, and then I eventually learned how to milk cows on my friends’ farms.”

When Corona entered high school, she joined FFA and soon served as an officer for her school’s chapter and later at the regional level. She also began shadowing veterinarians, mostly through Lake Country Vet in Albany, to gain experience with large animals. She continued shadowing veterinarians until last year.

“During my vet shadows is when I really fell in love with (dairy animals),” Corona said.

“Some of the vets let me do things like pregnancy checks on cows, and I got to meet so many farmers and see different operations and how they ran. I enjoyed being able to interact with farmers and their cows and being able to share with other people how much these farmers really do care for their cows and their operation as well as how much hard work they put in.”

Corona finally was able to show animals herself for the first time during college.

“We have a livestock show (Minnesota Royal) once a year at the U of M’s St. Paul campus,” Corona said. “I did get to show dairy heifers there three years in a row.”

She also pursued a job as a veterinary technician.

“I work at a vet clinic in the Twin Cities, and I love it,” Corona said. “I work with small animals there, so I’ve had a little bit of experience with everything.”

That experience now includes officially working on dairy farms with different setups.

“I worked on a robotic dairy, Groetsch Dairy by Albany, for a few months and gained some experience, and now I work for Randy Schmitt near St. Martin, on his dairy farm with a parlor and about 43 cows,” Corona said. “I love it. It’s really fun.”

With dairy farm employment on her resume, Corona ran for and became a Stearns County dairy princess and entered the competition to become a finalist for Princess Kay. The finalists were announced online May 12.

“We found out on Mother’s Day at about 2 p.m.,” Corona said. “I was overcome with nervousness for the entire day until the announcement because I had put so much work into it and I really care about it.”

Using her phone, Corona mirrored the website to her family’s television so that her parents and boyfriend could watch with her as the finalists’ names were announced.

“They had gotten to the ninth finalist, and I thought, ‘Oh no, I didn’t get it,”’ Corona said. “Then, I was number 10. It was such a relief and so exciting, and I think I shouted a little bit. It’s a dream come true. I never thought I’d be able to be graced with this, and it feels like a lot of hard work has paid off.”

As a finalist, Corona said she is looking forward to the events ahead.

“I am excited about getting close with the other nine individuals who are Princess Kay finalists,” Corona said. “I am also excited to get a butterhead. I don’t know if I’m going to be able to part with that thing because it’s so cool to have a block of butter with your face in it.”

If she were named Princess Kay of the Milky Way at the Minnesota State Fair in August, Corona said she would appreciate the opportunities the role would bring.

“I would be overjoyed to be Princess Kay, and I would want to interact at as many events as I could,” Corona said. “I would stress to people that, even if you didn’t grow up on a farm, you can still be a great advocate for the dairy community. There are options to get into it.”