By Staff
DOWAGIAC – Southwestern Michigan College Board of Trustees honored first-year student Danielle Foster for being named Miss American Angus 2008.
Foster, a 2007 Niles High School graduate, won the national competition last month in Louisville, Ky.
To compete for this title, each contestant had a 20-minute interview, a test on the Angus industry, was judged on a speech and was required to answer two impromptu questions on the Angus industry and their personal character.
"It (the process) was quite involved," Foster said. "Angus is the largest beef breed industry in the world and you had to know quite a lot about the industry."
As part of her duties as Miss American Angus, Foster will participate in six shows throughout the next year, including a trip to Denver in January.
She will also receive training on the Angus beef industry certification process.
She received $200 as the Michigan representative of the American Angus contest and $1,000 for being chosen Miss American Angus.
Foster, 18, is the daughter of Elaine and Scott Foster of Niles.
Elaine Foster is dean of academic studies at SMC.
Danielle's father is a partner in Seldom Rest Farms in Pokagon Township.
Her brother Andrew is a former SMC student now attending Oklahoma State University.
"I've been showing Angus on the national level since I was 9 years old," said Foster, who is a business and communications major with an emphasis on agriculture. "Previous to that, I traveled with my brother for three years while he was showing."
Contests are not new for Foster.
She was named Miss Congeniality to Miss Blossomtime 2007 as Miss Heart of Blossomtime, which she was crowned in 2006.