SAN ANTONIO – Hailey Hunt, a recent graduate of Madison High School recently walked the stage with numerous accolades including graduating Summa Cum Laude.
She was a member of the National Honors Society and has already earned numerous college credits from multiple AP courses.
Now out of high school, Hailey looks back on her time with the school’s Agri-Science program fondly.
“When I was in high school, I was extremely active in the FFA program at James Madison and graduating and leaving all that was really sad for me,” Hunt said. “We spent endless hours driving to livestock shows on minimum sleep. Probably two hours of sleep for like two or three days. Going to those competitions are where you find those bonds -- where you don’t understand how excited teachers are for you, until you succeed.”
Hailey helped raised rabbits, lambs and even helped train guide dogs for the blind during her time with FFA.
“That is a whole different world. Leadership, time management, organization,” Hunt said. “And not only giving back to the community as well, because when you think about it, you’re giving the visually-impaired their eyes through a dog -- versus just being limited with a cane.”
The next stop for Hailey is in Stephenville, Texas where she is planning to purse an ag-business degree in the fall at Tarleton State University. She says part of her decision to attend TSU had to deal with the fact that the city and campus felt like home.
“Tarleton definitely reminded me of Madison. They have specific buildings just for the AG program,” she said. “They have a ranch maybe three miles down from the campus for you to get hands on work, to have classes and labs there. Tarleton really just reminded me of home.”