The 2007 Serrault-Gorthy scholarship has been awarded to Shannon Smith of Tonganoxie, Kansas. Shannon will be attending Kansas State University. Here is her thank you letter to KQHA and the Serrault-Gorthy scholarship committee.

Within the first five minutes of meeting me, a person will discover that horses are the center of my existance. There is not one month during the year when I am not showing my two quarter horse gelidngs, training a two-year-old, studying for hippology contest, or helping the younger members in the 4-H horse project. My name is Shannon Smith and I am a senior at Tonganoxie High School. I am 18 years old, and this is my 12th year in 4-h and second year in KQHYA. I belong to the Happy Helpers 4-H club where I am Senior President. Additionally, I preside over all meetings for the Leavenworth County-Wide Horse Group. I live with my sister, Sarah and my mother, Vickie, on twenty acres.

During school this year, I split my time between academics and FFA. I have been fortunate enought to maintain a 4.0GPA throughout my high school career. Now that I am a senior, I am taking Advanced Placement classes and Composition I and Introduction to Literature. At school, I am an active member of the Tonganoxie FFA Chapter where I compete in land judging, parliamentary procedure, public speaking, horse judging and livestock judging contests. For the 2006-2007 school year, I was elected my chapter's secretary.

After high school, I plan to attend Kansas State Univesity and study Pre-Veterinary Medicine. I am particularly interested in equine sports medicine and stem cell therapy. While in college, I intent to try out for the equestrian team and participate in other equine-related clubs.

I would like to thank KQHA and the Serrault-Gorthy scholarship committee for selecting me as the recipient for this honorable scholarship. Thank you for assisting me in pursuing my education and fulfilling my dream of becoming a successful veterinarian. I am grateful for your help and will continue to strive for academic excellence.

Sincerely,

Shannon L. Smith