Sophomore Emma Andrew’s journey to become New York State’s Dairy Princess started on the dairy farm where she grew up.
Andrew said that she fondly remembers working with the calves as a child and later working one of the three daily shifts during which she milked up to 900 cows. With over 2,500 cows on her home dairy farm in Wayne County and her involvement in multiple dairy organizations, Andrew’s goal of working in public relations for the American Dairy Association and Dairy Council comes as no surprise. Before winning the title of NYS Dairy Princess, Andrew first had to win the Wayne County Dairy Princess Competition. As County Princess, Andrew said that she enjoyed working in public relations for the American Dairy Association and Dairy Council and collaborating with local schools to raise awareness and provide education about the importance of three servings of dairy a day.
“Interacting with kids and teaching them is fun,” Andrew said, noting that working with the schools was one of her favorite responsibilities as county princess.
After enjoying her reign as county princess, Andrew continued on to the state competition where she competed against girls she knew for years through her involvement in dairy-related organizations. Andrew and fellow contestants were evaluated and scored on their personal interviews, impromptu and prepared speeches, product knowledge exams and interactions with other contestants.
“[It was] more of a professional competition, not a beauty pageant,” Andrew said. Not only was Andrew crowned princess, she was also awarded an honorable mention for her speech and was one of the top three scorers on the product knowledge exam – 100 questions regarding the dairy industry and its products.
As state princess, Andrew received an internship with the American Dairy Association and Dairy Council for the summer. “It’s amazing how it all worked out,” Andrew said. “I won. Now I have an awesome internship for the summer.”
Andrew’s responsibilities now extend to organizing county princess and working with sports teams such as the Buffalo Bills, the New York Giants and the New York Knicks to raise awareness about the necessity of three dairy servings a day and to increase education about various dairy products.
Andrew said that she encourages her peers as well as adults to question negative connotations surrounding certain dairy products and to conduct their own research.
“[The competition was] a wonderful learning experience,” Andrew said, noting that she hopes to continue working with the American Dairy Association and Dairy Council after graduation.