Howdy! My name is Aubry Donato! I am a junior at James Madison High School at the Agriscience Magnet Program and am very active in the FFA. Throughout high school I have competed in leadership development events and career development events. I have also been a participant in the National High School BBQ Association and cooked pork chops for two years and now cook ribeye steak on my team. Last June my team won 3rd in the National competition in Branson, Missouri. During my 3 years at Madison High School I have found my true passion in showing swine. This year I am raising 2 pigs named Poppy (breed Spot) and Daisy (breed Chester). I have had my pigs since the beginning of August. When they came to me they weighed around 50 pounds each and now with a little bit of love, care and lots of feed they will weigh more than 300 pounds. I get up every morning and feed them, come rain or shine, and I walk and work both of them every night. My parents joke I take better care of them than I do myself. These pigs may look like ribs and bacon to some, but to me they mean much more. They are teaching me life lessons such as responsibility and work ethic. I have learned that you only get as much out of something as you put into something. Things haven’t been super easy. They started out being very hard to teach to walk and Poppy loved to run so I had to chase her around. They still have days where they aren’t completely cooperative but they have still been the best pigs to raise and are super sweet. I have been fortunate enough to attend practice shows this summer and fall which have set me up for success as we prepare for major and county shows. When I am not doing AG or FFA stuff I volunteer at my church in the early childhood ministry as a teacher.