Biography: Ann Miron

As a farm girl from the small town of Hugo, Minnesota I never thought that I would have the opportunity to go to China. My five siblings and I represent the fifth generation on our dairy farm and we all enjoy living and working on the farm. We own about 300 acres and rent another 300, so we farm 600 acres. On this land we grow corn, soybeans, hay, some small grains and pasture a good portion, too. We raise dairy cattle, a few chickens, and we have a dog, Buddy. Along with working of the farm I am also a Junior Dairy Princess for Washington County. Next year, when I am 18, I hope to compete for Princess Kay of the Milky Way, so that I can represent the dairy farmers of Minnesota.

Although I am from a small town, I attend Forest Lake Senior High School, which is located in a much larger city. There are about 18,000 citizens of Forest Lake and about 600 students in my graduating class. I play soccer at the varsity level and am proud to be captain of my team this year. I am also involved with the Future Farmers of America (FFA). I am president of the Forest Lake Chapter and compete in several Career Development Events. The FFA has been a key part of my growth over the four years that I have been involved and it is a big part of who I have become.

I enjoy doing a lot of other things outside of school, too. I love flowers and I take care of all the plants around the farm. I plant all the annuals every year and prune all the shrubs. I water the flowers every day and it takes about an hour to cover everything. I also like to dry some of the flowers that I grow to make potpourri and winter arrangements. I also like to do arts and crafts. I have a huge storage tub full of paints, ribbon, and tons of other supplies that I use to make random cute crafts. What I probably make the most of is cards. I don’t think that I have ever bought a card before. If someone has a birthday I will just sit down for 10 minutes and whip one out for them; it is much more personal. Growing up with all my brothers and sister, I have developed a love for children. I have so much fun babysitting my little cousins and neighbors. I love watching them grow up and see the new things that they learn everyday. Knowing that I helped them along the way is a great feeling.

I am so excited to be going on this trip. Because I grew up on a farm I have not had the opportunity to travel. This trip will be my second trip on an airplane (my first trip was to Washington, D.C., for FFA,) and my first time out of the country. Being able to experience another culture will be enlightening. This trip is also very important to me because I will be with some of the most prominent corporate people in our state. Networking with others on this trip will allow me to learn from their experiences and gain new insight.

I hope that everyone will follow along reports of our trip because they will be able to see and learn from our experiences. China is an emerging economic force in the world and will likely have an impact on each of us somehow, so why not learn a little bit about it? There are so many different things that will be explored on this trip, so whatever you are interested in, there should be something for you.