Pursuing A Dream As A Career Path

Victoria Chapman is pursuing her goal to support farmers and ranchers with help from the Sam Noble Scholarship Program.

Victoria Chapman has set her sights on a career path that allows her to serve an industry she loves: agriculture.

Chapman was born and raised as the fourth generation on her family’s cattle operation in south-central Oklahoma. From a young age, she remembers helping her father with day-to-day ranch duties like gathering cattle, checking heats and processing calves each spring. During this time, Chapman was also exposed to the policy side of the agriculture industry.

“Growing up, every summer, my siblings and I would attend the Oklahoma Cattlemen’s Convention annual meeting,” Chapman says. “It seemed as though this was only a routine but, what I didn’t realize, it was teaching me dedication and commitment to the industry.”

Throughout her childhood, Chapman was a member of several agricultural organizations. She exhibited livestock at local, state and national shows and had a keen interest in agriculture-related competitions. She credits her involvement with her local FFA as having the biggest impact on her educational decisions.

“Proudly wearing the blue and gold corduroy jacket for five years, I was exposed to several different areas within the ag industry,” Chapman says. “This allowed me to discover my own interests in specific areas and would eventually prepare me for a future occupation in agriculture.”

Pursuing a Career in Ag

Today, Chapman attends Oklahoma State University and is preparing to take the next step in her life’s goal of serving and working within the agriculture industry. She’s currently studying agribusiness with an emphasis in pre-law and minor in legal studies and is set to graduate with her bachelor’s degree in May 2020.

Victoria Chapman, a senior at Oklahoma State University and recipient of the Sam Noble Scholarship, studies agribusiness with an emphasis in pre-law and minor in legal studies.

“I was interested in ag business because of the opportunity for hands-on experience,” Chapman says. “Professors are great at relating lessons learned in the classroom to real-life situations similar to what my family would experience and use to run our ranching operation. Choosing my minor to be in the area of legal studies fueled my interest in policy, especially as it pertains to understanding wording and meanings behind contracts.”

Chapman is heavily involved in OSU’s College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources (CASNR). She has kept busy with internships and positions within departments and has actively participated in on-campus organizations. She is quick to note being a recipient of the Sam Noble Scholarship has allowed her to focus heavily on her studies and simultaneously participate in many extracurricular activities.

“The Noble Foundation’s investment in my education has allowed me to pursue an academic career in the field of agriculture while also giving me the opportunity to grow as a person and build relationships with other students and faculty involved in CASNR,” Chapman says.

From internships in Washington, D.C., with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Production and Conservation division, to serving as a CASNR ambassador and the executive director of the Student Alumni Board, Chapman embodies everything the Sam Noble Scholarship Program sets out to accomplish.

“Victoria Chapman exemplifies the ideal Sam Noble Scholar,” says Alexis Carter-Black, Noble Foundation’s former director of philanthropy. “We are proud of her achievements and look forward to her leaving her mark in the field of agriculture.”

Scholarship Program

Every year, the Sam Noble Scholarship Program endorses students from south-central Oklahoma who have dreams of obtaining an associate degree in technology or bachelor’s and graduate degrees in numerous agriculture-related fields.

“The Noble Foundation’s investment in my education has allowed me to pursue an academic career in the field of agriculture while also giving me the opportunity to grow as a person and build relationships with other students and faculty… .”Victoria Chapman, 2018 Sam Noble Scholarship recipient

“The main purpose of the Sam Noble Scholarship Program is to support the educational aspirations of students who want to pursue a future in agriculture,” Carter-Black says. “The scholarship has clearly served its intended purpose by choosing Victoria Chapman as a recipient.”

Selected recipients can receive up to $20,000 to put toward their college or post-high-school education. The scholarship is available to students who plan to attend or are currently attending a land-grant institution in the U.S. or a technical program offered by Oklahoma State University Institute of Technology, Okmulgee or Oklahoma State University, Oklahoma City. Students must also hail from one of Oklahoma’s south-central or southeastern counties.

The scholarship is extremely competitive, Carter-Black says.

“Each year we receive a number of applications from high achieving students — those who have graduated at the top of their high school classes with 4.0 GPAs and above, many with ACT scores above 30 and a few each year with perfect ACT scores,” she says.

Future Plans

Following graduation, Chapman plans on entering the workforce. She would like to continue her growth and development within the agriculture industry by obtaining a livestock marketing position that deals specifically with policy.

“I hope to serve producers and consumers through regulatory and financial hardships that will arise over time through the changes in the industry,” Chapman says.

Every industry is constantly evolving, and Chapman believes the agriculture industry is no exception. Part of her 10-year plan after college is to work with producers, small and large, to devise and fight for policy that fits their ever-changing needs.

“I’d like to work first with small farmers and ranchers in rural areas and eventually move into working with commercial operations,” Chapman says. “I’d like to create consulting relationships with these producers and analyze legislation with and for them.”