Union County native Kennedy Hill is not your average high school graduate.
She is one of the valedictorians for the Union County High School Class of 2020, she served as the Beta Club vice president and Horace Maynard FFA Chapter president, and has acquired approximately 400 service hours with 4-H over the past four years.
Hill ran for homecoming queen for FFA this past fall raising over $14,000 for her FFA chapter and is currently a state finalist for the Swine Production Proficiency award through FFA (to be announced on June 2).
Hill plans to attend the University of Tennessee this fall, majoring in Agriculture Communications and minoring in Animal Science. She has been awarded a scholarship through the Herbert College of Agriculture to help her through the next four years of furthering her education.
Hill says she has been heavily involved in 4-H and FFA during her high school career.
“Through 4-H, I have been a member of the Eastern Region All-Star Council and Tennessee 4-H State Council for the past two years,” said Hill. “These are officer positions on the regional and state level where I plan multiple events each year and serve as an ambassador for the 4-H organization.”
She says this past year has been the highlight of her 4-H and FFA career.
“I have been able to compete in the National Livestock Skillathon at NAILE (North American International Livestock Expositions), one of the biggest livestock shows in the United States,” she said. “This has been a dream of mine for years and I was able to be a part of the team through winning the State Swine Skillathon, (which is a knowledge based test about swine, while the national test is based on all livestock species)."
Hill was also able to attend National 4-H Congress as a Senior Level II Agriculture Leadership winner at the state 4-H conference (State 4-H Roundup).
“I have been extremely blessed to have an abundance of opportunities and experiences through 4-H and FFA, which has made my four years in high school amazing,” said Hill, who also said her biggest influences throughout high school have been her agricultural teachers (Mrs. Baxter, Mr. Fugate, Mrs. Elliot, Ms. Scharett, and Ms. Licata), as well as the Union County UT Extension Agriculture and 4-H agent, Shannon Dewitt.
“Mrs. DeWitt has helped me tremendously throughout the years and was the person that helped me start this journey,” says Hill.
The UCHS senior has also shown and raised her own show pigs for the past few years and was able to finish out her showing career in January; winning the state swine premiere exhibitor award for the fourth year in a row.
But as with all students, this has not been a typical year for Hill.
“It has been difficult not having the opportunity to give a proper goodbye to high school,” she said. “But my parents, Shawn and Tammie Hill, have always supported me and even driven me across the state a countless number of times for 4-H events. Thanks to them, I have been able to excel in so many things.”