Honor Society® member
Samantha Harper
Sales Associate at At Marshalls, I performed as a Cashier and Sales Associate. This job entails positive customer service, the skills to work well with other associates, organization, and proper time management.
- Global Conflict Studies
- Class of 2023
- Palatka, FL
Member since January 2023
About
Hi! My name is Samantha Harper. I attend Q.I. Roberts Jr Sr High School in Florida where I am a part of FFA (Future Farmers of America), Student Government, National Honor Society, and am both a Q.I Roberts Senior and Mental Health Ambassador. Some fun facts about me are that I am adopted, my favorite animal is a rabbit, and I enjoy spending time outdoors. You can also find me spending time with my friends and family, attending church, listening to music, or attending Jiu-Jitsu classes which are all things I thoroughly enjoy.
I will be graduating in May of 2023. Upon graduating with my Cambridge Advanced International Certificate of Education (AICE) diploma from high school, I plan to attend Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach and major in Global Conflict Studies with a dual minor in Homeland Security and Business. Having knowledge and skill in conflict resolution, management, and security will allow me to reach my goal of obtaining a position with the United States Department of Agriculture Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Coordination (USDA/OHSEC) to help safeguard America’s food and agricultural sectors. From there, I plan to attend the University of Florida and obtain a master’s degree in Agribusiness from the Food and Resource Economics program. This will allow me to further immerse myself into my career with knowledge of financial analysis, policy, production, and working in government organizations. With my masters I plan to work for the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service to help America’s farmers receive fair prices for their commodities and promote U.S. agricultural exports. With my unique background in agricultural practices, and being female, I will certainly be an asset in this field.
During my middle and high school years, if I wasn’t doing schoolwork you could find me always engaged in an extracurricular activity or agricultural pursuit. My involvement in the institutions started out as just a participant. But, that soon changed when I started to thrive outside of my comfort zone and began to hold higher, more prestigious positions and responsibilities within these activities.
Through my involvement in Future Farmers of America (FFA) and 4-H, I have had many opportunities to volunteer in my community and take on new leadership roles. Positions that I have had the honor of holding in FFA include the Q.I. Roberts FFA Secretary, Florida FFA District IV Secretary, and Florida FFA District IV President. In FFA, I am able to conduct leadership workshops for agriculture students at my school, put together presentations for each monthly FFA meeting, and participate in animal projects. I have been raising rabbits for 7 years where I have shown at both state and national levels, and I have raised poultry and swine for the past 3 years. Further roles of leadership that I have held include being a 4-H Putnam County Council Officer, where I have served as Vice President and am currently serving as President. In the past four years as a Putnam 4-H Council Officer, I have been able to oversee and manage each county council meeting. I attend every 4-H event in Putnam County and use my leadership skills to be a giving, inspiring President to our younger 4-H members.
Service projects that I am involved in include Epic Cure Food Distribution, Feed the Need of Putnam County, Farm Share Food Distribution, Clay County Teen Court, volunteering at the Putnam-St. Johns yearly Farm Bureau Banquet, volunteering at my local community garden, and participating in 4-H and FFA Thanksgiving Food and Christmas Present Drives. In total, I have over 600 hours of community service that I have completed during high school.
My dedication to my schoolwork enabled me to receive my Cambridge Advanced International Certificate of Education Diploma before the start of my senior year. Upon completing the Private Pilot Operations dual-enrollment class through Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University that I took my junior year, I received the Top Woman Aerospace Student Award from my Embry-Riddle instructor. During the time that I held the title of 2020 National Teen Miss Agriculture USA and met with Kat Cammack, she presented me with the award of being a 2021 U.S. House of Representative Congressional Record Honoree. Public Speaking is also an area I have thrived in and won prestigious awards in district, state, and national levels. Some of these include competing at the state level for the Florida FFA Creed Speaking Contest, and qualifying for the National 4-H Public Speaking Contest. At the 2022 Florida FFA State Convention, I received my State FFA Degree, the highest FFA degree that can be received in high school, and I was a finalist for the Outstanding FFA District Officer Award.
My awards and honors, school-related activities, and dedication to the service of others in my community reflect my success with any endeavor I take on, and reflect the investment I have taken to manifest a successful future.
Education
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Q.I. Roberts Jr Sr High School
2017 – 2023
Honors and awards
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2022 Cambridge AICE Diploma Recipient
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2022 Q.I. Roberts Top Woman Aerospace Student
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2022-2023 Florida Future Farmers of America (FFA) District IV President
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2022-2023 4-H Putnam County Council President
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2022, 2021 Florida State Fair Champion Youth Ambassador
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2021 U.S. House of Representatives Congressional Record Honoree
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2021 4-H Speech Contest National Qualifier
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2021-2022 Florida FFA District IV Secretary
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2021-2022 Putnam County 4-H Council Vice President
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2020 National Teen Miss Agriculture USA
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2020 Florida Teen Miss Agriculture USA
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2020 Florida FFA District Creed Speaking Winner
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2020-2023 Q.I. Roberts FFA Chapter Secretary
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2019 Florida State Rabbit Breeders Association Duchess
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2019-2020 Q.I. Roberts FFA Chapter Reporter
Goals and interests
- Career goal
Upon graduating with my AICE diploma from high school, I plan to attend Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach and major in Global Conflict Studies with a minor in Homeland Security. Having knowledge and skill in resolution, conflict management, and security will allow me to reach my goal of obtaining a position with the United States Department of Agriculture Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Coordination (USDA/OHSEC). This department leads initiatives in homeland security-related preparedness, planning, and resolution responses for all activities conducted within the USDA.
- Graduate school interests
I plan to attend the University of Florida and obtain a master’s degree in Agribusiness from the Food and Resource Economics program. This will allow me to further immerse myself into my career with knowledge of financial analysis, policy, production, and working in government organizations. With my masters I plan to work for the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service to not only help Florida’s, but America’s farmers receive fair prices for their commodities and promote U.S. agricultural exports.
- Outside the classroom
Church, Jiu Jitsu, hiking, taking care of my animals, Spending time with friends and family, baking, cleaning and organizing, spearheading community service projects, and running 5k races.
Experience
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Sales Associate
At Marshalls, I performed as a Cashier and Sales Associate. This job entails positive customer service, the skills to work well with other associates, organization, and proper time management.
Apr 2021 – Mar 2022
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Sterilization Technician
At Suzanne M. Wilbur DMD, I was the Sterilization Technician. I was required to work in the sterilization area sterilizing and organizing dental instruments, setting up procedure trays, sterilizing operating rooms, helping to answer the phone when needed and seating patients.
Jun 2020 – Aug 2020
Volunteering
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Epic -Cure Food Distribution Volunteer: Epic-Cure saves food from going into landfills and places that food into the hands of people who are less fortunate and food insecure. Epic-Cure serves 18,000 to 20,000 individuals and places around 72 pounds of food to food insecure families every month in northeast Florida. Those in my community that are less privileged are able to obtain these items for free once a week (Friday or Saturday) from 2 warehouse locations. My tasks at Epic-Cure food distribution warehouse have included unpacking boxes of inventory, sanitizing produce organizers, organizing and loading shelves with food and other items, help customers load up their car with groceries, aiding in directing of parking, and retrieving shopping carts from the parking lot. Not only did I help load shelves, I assisted patrons with placing heavier/bulky items into their shopping carts and stayed afterwards to clean the facility. The manager has also asked me to supervise the sign-in sheet that the organization uses to track who in my community is utilizing this program. The most amazing part of this experience has been working with the other volunteers, many of which are senior citizens. These older volunteers stand on their feet for 5-6 hours straight, never complaining and without pay. These volunteers have been an inspiration for me that I will always carry.
Epic Cure Food Distribution
May 2022 – Jan 2023
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Feed the Need of Putnam County Volunteer: Working with this locally based charity along with over 200 other teen volunteers, I have participated in this yearly packing event to provide non-perishable food items that resulted in providing 32,500 meals for area children who are food insecure. Active roles I engaged in included: accurately weighing/measuring food items, thoroughly sealing each food pack, and working as part of a small coherent 5 member team at each station. Being part of a solution to help end hunger in my community is something I am proud to be involved in.
Feed the Need
Sep 2019 – Sep 2022
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Community Garden Volunteer: Caring for the community garden includes a multitude of strategic thinking in order to problem solve, research, and implement ways to maintain the community gardens value. I volunteered at the Putnam County Community Garden every Wednesday alongside fellow members of my FFA chapter. Tasks at the community garden include watering garden plots, mowing the grass, making sure the storage barn is organized, and picking up any litter. My FFA Chapter grew turnips, tomatos, onions, and lettuce in our garden plot. Every week we checked and made sure our plot was growing well. Not only did the service my fellow FFA members and I did help our crops grow in our plot, but it also ensured that the garden as a whole was in good shape and its value was maintained.
Water Works - Palatka Community Garden
Aug 2019 – May 2021
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I have participated in Project PRAISE through Putnam County 4-H for six years. Project PRAISE involves all the 4-H clubs in Putnam County to donate Christmas gifts to area children who are defined as being homeless. Then the 4-H youth members, including with myself, personally wrap these gifts at our December 4-H County Counsel meeting. In the past four years that I have been a Putnam County 4-H County Officer, I have been able to take on other roles including: setting up the room, organizing each wrapping station with necessary items, helping to oversee and manage the event and ensure that 4-H members have fun during Project PRAISE. This has shown me the importance of giving back to others less fortunate in my small community.
Project PRAISE
Dec 2018 – Dec 2022
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4-H Camp Counselor at Camp Cherry Lake: This activity involved ensuring that the campers in my cabin got the most our of their experience at 4-H Camp Cherry Lake. Roles I had included making sure each camper got to their classes on time, were getting along well with resolving any conflicts, and left the week with a new skill set and positive mind. I also worked as part of a team of other counselors. As a team we helped serve food to other 4-H members, cleaning the dining hall before and after every meal, and coming up with camp songs and motions to teach our younger 4-H campers. Along with my fellow 4-H Camp Counselors, I attended 3 leadership workshops before the summer camp to learn everything that encompassed being a camp counselor. This included how to respond to possible situations among campers such as disagreements, how to be considerate of every camper in our cabin, and ultimately how to ensure that our campers have the best time at camp by being inclusive. These leadership workshops gave me the skills to make me a better leader to younger 4-H members. Not only did these skills help me for Camp Cherry Lake, but they have helped me grow as a 4-H County Council officer where my tasks involve working with younger 4-H members at every 4-H event I attend. These leadership workshops helped shape me into a confident and giving 4-H member myself.
Florida 4-H Camp Cherry Lake
Jun 2018 – Jun 2019
Languages
- English (US)
