Spring 2025 Winner of the Bright Futures Scholarship

Callie Johnson

Throughout her life, Callie has been deeply involved in two activities – 4-H and volleyball. While each presented its own challenges, she learned skills that will help her throughout college and beyond. Congratulations, Callie, and we look forward to all you will accomplish!

Read her essay here:

When asked to tell a little bit about myself through leadership, dedication, and passion more than one thing popped into my head. I’m not going to write about just one thing and bore you, but I want to name a few things I’m involved in. These 3 things are constantly working in my life even when I don't intend for them to be. I feel I have two activities that I’m involved in that truly cover the big three topics. They are 4-H and volleyball, while also holding officer positions in multiple clubs. This year I took a big step in my 4-H career by having a “buddy”. These are young children paired with an older club member while just learning how to care for and show their animal.

I call myself an “older club member” but in reality this will only be by my second year showing cattle. I had a little cattle accident my very first 4-H year with my steer named “Bossy”, I’m sure you can imagine where this name came from… long story short, Bossy did not make it to the fair and I was a very scared little girl for a long time. This did not stop me from being the “farm girl” I wanted to be; this was just a tiny setback. After this I went on to show sheep for the next 5 years. I will forever be thankful for the family friends that made it a point to work me back to cattle and provide the lambs that were just a little easier for me to handle. While showing sheep I had many great experiences and opportunities that fueled my determination to take me right back where I needed to be and before I knew it I had my very own “Sully the steer” weighing in at a whopping one thousand seven hundred and ninety nine pounds in the month of July. I showed him like a pro even if he was walking me. I feel this shows my hard work, passion, and dedication because the scared little girl in me wanted to quit after getting thrown by “Bossy” but I didn't let that stop me.

Another passion I carry very close to my heart is volleyball. I've played this sport for 9 years and it truly is more than just a game. I've been a part of the best volleyball teams and it really creates a bond, even between strangers. I've been fortunate enough to be team captain of some of my teams, that was my first introduction into the leadership role.

I will forever be grateful for the coaches that pushed me and provided me with these life lessons I will carry with me throughout this new chapter in my life. With this being said, I'm always open to grow and take on even more skills and responsibilities. These are just some of the many hats that I wear that I feel tell a little about me and allow you to see more than just my senior year activities.