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OALE Spotlight – Bay Bolen

Bay Bolen, Oklahoma native, leader in Circle K International, College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources student academic mentor and leader both on and off campus.

Bay grew up in Idabel, Okla. on her family’s broiler operation. Together with her two younger sisters, she grew up raising and showing competitive show sheep. Throughout high school she was active in her FFA chapter serving as chapter president, participated on the livestock judging team and received the southeast district Star Farmer award.

Today, she may not be in the barn working sheep on a daily basis, however she’s still involved in agriculture. For the past few years, Bay travels to Madill, Okla. each spring to assist the Baptist Girls Home in preparation of their county fair.

Beyond the showring, this past summer, Bay served as an intern at the Bank of Kremlin.

“I see my involvement in agriculture being related to the rural development and convenience for farmers and agriculture landowners,” Bay said. “My goal is to become a rural and farm appraiser and work to eliminate some of the burdens an appraisal causes.”

Bay hopes to one day offer an affordable and convenient service for those in need of an appraisal.

“Having been raised on a farm, I know what it takes to obtain and maintain a loan from the bank,” she said. “There seems to be a lack of agricultural appraisers and I hope to fill that void.”

Bay’s agricultural roots run deep. From the farm, to the showring, to the financial side of agriculture, she knows first-hand the vital role farmers and ranchers play both here in Oklahoma, the United States and on a global scale.

Through her experiences on OALE, she looks forward to gaining knowledge about other agricultural industries and also looks forward to stepping outside her comfort zone and personally challenging herself to grow and explore new career opportunities.

Here at the Oklahoma Youth Expo, we are thankful for young leaders like Bay and believe in investing in our youth. Look for Bay and the rest of her OALE class at this year’s OYE!