The Frazeel Smith-King Scholarship has supported me greatly over the last three years; I am forever thankful to be selected. This scholarship has provided book purchases, academic and activity fees. This allowed me to use my money from the work-study job, farm hand on Delval’s campus, to support other personal necessities, fraternity dues, equestrian lessons, etc.

This scholarship has impacted my life tremendously at Delval. I have been exposed to hands-on experience working on the farm, learning about farm equipment, repairing equipment, and horticulture. The scholarship monies applied to school needs allowed me to join additional teams/clubs. I joined an equestrian team to learn how to care for and ride horses as well as compete in junior competitions. I was even afforded to go to a rodeo and ride a bull! Also, I joined the Horticulture club, raised hot peppers, and made my own hot sauce and salsa. We bottled the hot sauce and sold it at activities and community events.

This winter term, I was selected for an internship with Deseret Cattle Ranch in St. Cloud, Florida, as a Cowboy. Deseret Ranch, a 44,000 cow/calf operation, is one of the largest cattle operations in the U.S. The internship began in January through the end of April. It was the best time of my life; I lived in a house on the ranch. I was able to take care of myself, cooking daily, cleaning, etc. A very independent experience in comparison to living in a dorm. I worked over 5,000 head of cattle on horseback! I worked extremely hard, asked a lot of questions, and most of all learned more than I could have expected about ranching. The duties included checking cattle daily, feeding, working cattle while on horseback, branding, castrating, and an embryo transfer project. As well as fixing equipment, fencing, and pasture/unit infrastructure maintenance.

The support from this scholarship and my family has provided and had a tremendous impact on working towards my career goals in Agriculture!

Thank you again!

Sincerely,
Darian Poles