Hillary Mitchell

Hillary Mitchell’s love of outdoor activities and experience owning and showing cows made selecting the Dairy Farm Management major easy. 

“I participated in the VAST program. It was an easy transfer. I quickly adjusted to the change. The classroom environment wasn’t the same as in high school, but it was what I was looking for. I hadn’t originally planned on going to college. I was looking for alternatives to do for my senior year of high school, and someone told me about the VAST program. I wanted a more challenging and professional learning environment, so I quickly signed up.” 

Hillary has long been interested in farming and has considered starting a farm since she participated in 4H as a kid. Through her time at Vermont Tech, she’s also completed most of the forestry classes. 

“I decided to take these classes because I enjoyed logging and wanted to learn more. Every class I’ve taken has been different. Some are more challenging and have a heavy workload; some are easier. I like that there is an opportunity to take classes that aren’t specific to my degree. I’ve had a great experience with the professors that teach the ag and forestry-related classes,” she said. 

These new experiences have allowed her to consider new possibilities for her career. 

“I would like to use the knowledge I’ve gotten from my ag, business, and forestry classes and start a farm as well as log. I’m interested in going out west and working on a ranch and logging.” 

Hillary enjoys showing cows, driving truck, logging, operating equipment, skiing, snowboarding, hiking, being in nature, traveling, and more. 

Her advice to incoming students is to participate in as much as possible. 

“Visit the farm, talk with the professors, get involved. There’s a lot to be learned at the farm and experiences students don’t get unless they are actively at the farm asking.”