After the Iowa Pork Queen and the first Iowa Pork Producers Youth Leadership Team Ambassador were crowned in Des Moines on January 26, Panorama High school senior Reagan Gibson was already looking forward to competing for a spot on next year’s team.

Just a few short moments later, Gibson had a sash and a $4,000 scholarship for being named to this year’s team. She relives the moment and her excitement upon the selection.

“I was really shocked and really excited. The other two girls who had been selected are amazing and yeah, I was just really happy. I was really young, so I was like ‘Oh, it’s okay. If I don’t get it, I can do it again next year, and it was really good to have that experience.’ Then, when they called my name, I was blown away. It was amazing.”

Gibson is a fourth-generation pork producer. She says she met one of the members of the 2020 Youth Leadership Team at an event, and he told her she’d be a really good fit.

The  two-day competition was held during a massive snowstorm and the senior says she’s looking forward to the experience and preparing for her future.

“Something I’m especially excited for is being able to educate people. That’s what I want to do when I grow up, be a teacher. So, going around to different counties and really doing as much as I can to educate not only producers but consumers about the pork industry, safe production practices and educating consumers about why we do what we do and why pork is a good healthy choice.”

After graduating from Panorama, Gibson plans to attend Iowa State University in the fall to become an agriculture teacher.