Holstein Association USA celebrates top youth

Photo Courtesy of Holstein Association USA 

Quinn Dum (from left) of Elliottsburg, Pennsylvania; Lauren Siemers of Kiel, Wisconsin; Madeline Hensel of Pittsville, Wisconsin; Ainsley Noble of Lancaster, Wisconsin; Kylie Konyn of Escondido, California; and Jacob Schaefer of Little Falls, Minnesota, were selected as Distinguished Junior Member finalists by Holstein Association USA June 27 at the organization’s national convention in Lexington, Kentucky. 

 

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Six young Holstein enthusiasts joined an elite club within Holstein Association USA, being recognized as Distinguished Junior Member finalists, the highest honor the association bestows upon its junior members. The youth were celebrated June 27 at the organization’s national convention in Lexington. 

In that group of six were three Wisconsinites: Madeline Hensel of Pittsville, Ainsley Noble of Lancaster and Lauren Siemers of Kiel. Jacob Schaefer of Little Falls, Minnesota, was named a finalist as was University of Wisconsin-Madison student Kylie Konyn of California. The remaining finalist is Quinn Dum of Pennsylvania. In addition, Christopher Gunst and Cathryn Gunst, both of Pine River, Wisconsin, and Dylan Ryan of Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, were among a group of eight to be named Younger Distinguished Junior Member finalists. 

“Being named a (Distinguished Junior Member) finalist is the single greatest experience of my time as a Junior Holstein Association member,” Siemers said. “There have been a lot of happy memories, but to become a part of this elite group of Holstein Association members is really the pinnacle.”                                                                            

Siemers will be a senior at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh where she is majoring in marketing and journalism. She said she has held on strongly to her junior membership during her schooling. 

“Not going to an ag school, I don’t see my dairy friends on a daily basis in classes and at dairy club meetings,” Siemers said. “Junior Holsteins has helped keep me connected to the industry.”

Fellow finalist Schaefer, who will be entering his senior year at South Dakota State University as a dairy production major with an ag marketing minor, credits an early-developed love of the show ring for capturing his interest as a junior member.

“As I began to have more success in the show ring, I started to become more interested in the other activities that the Minnesota Junior Holstein Association had to offer,” Schaefer said. “I eventually ran for the board and served on that for several years. I really enjoyed becoming a leader as a part of the Junior Holstein Association.”

Seeking out involvement in a wide variety of activities, Schaefer said, was key to making the most of his junior years. 

“Do anything and everything,” Schaefer said. “It sounds obvious, but the best thing you can do is get involved. The things I have participated in and learned while taking part in Junior Holstein activities are the foundation of who I am.”

Developing connections with adult members has been one of the most valuable experiences Schaefer said he has had.                                                             

“The role models and mentors available to you through the Holstein cow are such a resource,” Schaefer said. “Willis Gunst and Spencer Hackett have been two great mentors within the association. They have always been willing to answer questions and help me prepare throughout the DJM process.”                                                                                                                                                            

Like her fellow award recipients, Noble called the experience a life-long dream.

“Being selected as a National DJM has been a goal of mine for as long as I can remember,” Noble said. “It is something I have worked for my entire life, and for it to happen is an amazing feeling.”

Noble has personal connection that added to the sentiment of being named a finalist. 

“My dad was named a National DJM at the 1998 national convention held in Kentucky,” Noble said. “So, to receive the same honor 25 years later in the same state was very special to me.”

A sophomore at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls, Noble is majoring in agricultural education with a minor in dairy science. Her future plans include teaching agriculture and working as an FFA advisor and returning to her family’s 400-cow Grant County dairy farm. 

“I want to be that mentor for kids like my own dad has been for me,” Noble said. “Without his pushing me to work my hardest and everything he has taught me, I wouldn’t be the person I am today.”                                                                       

Noble credited her time serving as a Junior Activities Committee member as teaching her a lot about herself and how to navigate difficult situations. 

“We had to work really hard to figure out how to keep members engaged throughout the pandemic, first when everything was canceled and then how to bring older members back to the activities in the year after,” Noble said. “It really gave me an understanding of how to face adversity.”

Unlike the other finalists, Hensel did not come from a dairy farm background.

“I fell in love with the dairy industry, and Red and White Holsteins in particular, as a little girl, tagging along when my sister Hannah decided she wanted to show a calf,” Hensel said. “I am so grateful to her for helping me become a part of this industry.”

Hensel’s junior Holstein story grew from participating in events like dairy bowl and speaking contests into a passion for advocating for agriculture. That passion grew even more while Hensel served as the 2022 Wisconsin Holstein Princess. Hensel and her sisters have developed their own herd of registered Holsteins throughout their years as junior members. 

Without the foundation of a dairy farm behind her, Hensel said she was fortunate to have mentors who have played a large role in her life. 

“Take every opportunity that comes your way, and don’t be afraid to learn by making a mistake,” Hensel said. “The more you learn, the more confident you will become.”

Hensel, who will be entering her freshman year as an online student in the University of Wisconsin system majoring in education, continues to serve the state association as a member of the Junior Advisory Committee. 

“Serving as princess and now on the JAC has allowed me to learn more about how to best promote the industry and to encourage other juniors to embrace everything the association has to offer,” Hensel said.                  

Growing up on an 850-cow dairy farm on the edge of San Diego, California, Konyn was geographically removed from many of her dairy industry peers growing up but developed an interest in competing in dairy bowl, dairy jeopardy and speaking contests. 

Konyn had what she calls a pivotal moment as a junior.

“I missed making our state’s dairy bowl team but qualified for the national dairy jeopardy contest in 2015,” Konyn said. “I was so excited to represent my state at my first national convention. But, the contest didn’t go well for me, and I left the room in tears. I felt like a disappointment to my whole state.”

She could have let that experience be the end of her willingness to try new things, Konyn said, but instead she chose to persevere. 

“I kept working and made our state’s junior dairy bowl team the next year, and we won the national championship,” Konyn said. “Then in 2017, we were the runners-up in the senior division and won the national championship in 2019.”

Konyn will be a junior at the University of Wisconsin-Madison where she is majoring in dairy science with certificates in agricultural business management and life sciences communications. She is looking forward to a semester abroad next spring, studying in either Ireland or the Netherlands. 

 It was because of its strong student-led research programs that Konyn chose to attend UW-Madison. There she quickly embraced membership in the Wisconsin Junior Holstein Association.    

“Wisconsin really is the center of the dairy world,” Konyn said. “It has come to be home to me, and I know this is where I want my future career to be.”                                                                                                                                            

 All of the finalists expressed the same sentiment of encouraging other junior members to embrace experiences through their Junior Holstein Association memberships and to take the time to complete the DJM application process.            

“It is a beast of an application, but the program really deserves the time and attention,” Siemers said. “The connections I have made through the process have been wonderful and will stay with me throughout my life.”

Siemers advised youth considering an application to make the commitment to the project and seek advice throughout the process.

“It is a huge undertaking but one that is worth it,” Siemers said. “Be open and honest. This is your story. It doesn’t need embellishment; just be authentic.”