Student: Abigail Sanchez
Year in School: Senior
Plans After High School: Abigail wants to major in Agricultural Business and become an agribusiness manager, financial analyst, or a sales manager. Abigail is interested in attending Cornell University, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, or Fresno State University.
GPS Focus: PRIDE
What Makes Abigail #BulldogSTRONG: For most of her life, agriculture has been an integral part of Golden Valley High School Senior Abigail Sanchez’s life. Being raised by a single mother who toiled and worked hard in the fields to make a living for her family, Abigail never imagined that agriculture would have the impact that it has had on her life. As a young adolescent at Ollivier Middle School, Abigail was introduced to the Future Farmers of America (FFA) program from her teacher Ms. Laffoon, and from there, her passion for animals and agriculture grew tremendously. As she completed middle school, Ms. Laffoon challenged Abigail to be a leader in high school and join FFA because of the interest she displayed in middle school. In order to further convince Abigail of joining FFA, Ms. Laffoon showed off her blue corduroy jacket (the iconic article of clothing most FFA students wear) and with that, the summer after she graduated middle school, Abigail signed up to be part of FFA at Golden Valley High School and got her first goat. Entering her fourth year as an active participant of FFA at GVHS, Abigail has become a consistent, decorated presence, establishing herself as a leader amongst her peers.
Throughout her time as a Bulldog, Abigail has gained important experiences that have shaped her into the leader that she is as a Senior. In showing animals, Abigail has become an expert in raising and showing goats and has also assisted students in showing lambs. As a freshman and sophomore, Abigail competed at the Kern County Fair showing market goats and in her sophomore year, she finished in 2nd place for Showmanship and Kern Bred and Fed. With Covid-19 shutting down the fair in 2020, Abigail was unable to compete, but will this year with its reopening to the residents of Kern County. Already this year, Abigail faced an early obstacle with the premature death of her first goat, but she has already raised another one that made weight in time to compete and she hopes to place in the costume contest where Abigail will dress as Cleopatra and her goat will be Cleopatra’s cat.
Beyond the awards and accolades, Abigail has gained valuable leadership skills as a member of the FFA Chapter at GVHS. She was the chapter Historian her sophomore year, Secretary her junior year, and this year, she was selected to serve as the chapter’s President. Overall, Abigail is extremely grateful for the lessons she has learned in FFA. “There are many things I have experienced in FFA such as hands-on work that helped me learn and develop life skills I did not think I had,” humbly states Abigail, “I have always been very shy when it came to speaking up but being in FFA and having my teachers push me into speaking contests helped me improve my communication. It also helped me better with my analytical skills such as critical thinking and problem solving.” Abigail is extremely thankful and proud to be a Bulldog, not only for the FFA program, but because of the nurturing environment that has been created at GVHS. “The main reason Golden Valley High School is a special place to me is because it is a dignified school,” comments Abigail, “We have so many activities and clubs where students could express themselves and gain confidence. We also have really good teachers that teach in many different ways where each student can comprehend the material in their own way.” For the PRIDE she has in being the Chapter President of GVHS’s FFA program and in being a Bulldog and in the love she has for raising animals, Abigail Sanchez is #BulldogSTRONG.
What #BulldogSTRONG Means to Abigail: "To me #BulldogSTRONG means always trying your best and taking pride in everything you do whether big or small. It could be gestures such as helping a new student find their classes or helping to prepare for a school school event. Being #BulldogSTRONG is always being proud of your outcome and learning from your mistakes. Coming to school with a positive attitude and treating everyone with kindness.”
What Teachers and Staff Think of Abigail:
"I have had the pleasure to have Abbie as a student for the past 3 years! She is currently our GVHS FFA Chapter President and was the secretary last year. She has had a tough fair season with her goat project this year, the first one was killed on 4th of July by dogs that broke into the ROC farm on Mt. Vernon. The second goat was a challenge, but Abbie has shown great resilience this show season and I know she will do great at the Kern County Fair. Abbie is such a FANTASTIC leader for our FFA Chapter, she helps out the younger students and shows them how to be successful in FFA. I know Abbie will succeed in anything she does after high school and I can not wait to see what it is!” Cassandra Soberano, Agriculture Teacher and FFA Advisor, Golden Valley High School
“Abigail Sanchez is the epitome of #BulldogSTRONG. She has been a leader in the FFA since she was a freshman. She is always calm, cool, and collected. A top notch student and a thoughtful, caring, and kind individual. I could write a book on all of her accomplishments, personal resilience, and skills she has learned in her years at Golden Valley. She is the student we wish we had a whole classroom full of, the daughter that we all hope to have, and the good citizen that we want as our next door neighbor. I love and appreciate her so much for everything she has done for Golden Valley FFA.” Katy Nieblas, Agriculture Teacher and FFA Advisor, Golden Valley High School
"Abigail Sanchez is an outstanding young woman and a true example of being #BulldogSTRONG in the classroom, on campus, and in our community. Since her Freshman year at GV she has been involved in numerous activities but has truly been devoted to her love of animals and our FFA program. In class she demonstrates positive learning behaviors as a studious and inquisitive learner. And she is always willing to help her peers around her as well. Truly, I appreciate Abigail as a learner and believe she has a bright future ahead of her beyond high school." John Hansen, Government/Economics Teacher and We The People Coach, Golden Valley High School
“Abigail Sanchez is representing Golden Valley FFA this year as the 2021-2022 FFA Chapter President. The FFA is the student leadership organization of the Agriculture Education Program that Golden Valley currently has over 400 members enrolled in. Abigail and her team of officers are in charge of organizing monthly meetings and events that members can participate in. Abigail is very organized and has great leadership abilities which will help her continue to be very successful in college and her career. Abigail is Bulldog Strong!” Brian Watts, Career and Technical Education Department Chair and Agriculture Teacher, Golden Valley High School
“Abigail is a model library student who exhibits self-efficacy and shows pride by helping maintain the organization of the library. She provides valuable service when assisting students in locating books. Abigail has proven to be a great asset to the library.” Manuel Sanchez, Librarian and Head Cross Country Coach, Golden Valley High School