Recent high-school graduate Dustin Shaver has accomplished great things in the last couple years, moving to Texas being one of the biggest. Dustin has moved to Texas to begin his college life as a College Rodeo Star. “The reason [he] went to Texas was to become a better bareback rider as they will be teaching [him] better ways to ride and also teaching [him] to have a better thought on winning,” says Dustin as he fulfills this college athlete position. Some of Dustin’s accomplishments include: winning the Canadian high-school rodeo finals, placing 6th in the Worlds high-school rodeo finals, and winning the Lakeland Rodeo Association (LRA) in his rookie year. He plans to win the college finals in his new adventure as well.
Dustin has been involved with the rodeo lifestyle for about 4 years and has had tremendous support from his family including his uncle, his dad who drove him across the country, and his mom and step-dad Todd who always continued to encourage him to stay strong as well as letting him know that it is okay to fail. Dustin will be participating in college rodeo and upgrading his schooling as well as taking a 4-year bachelor of science program.
Coming from a small town can be difficult but it also has its advantages. Dustin had only positive things to say about coming from Bezanson. He says, “For how small Bezanson is everyone was extremely helpful. Teachers like Mr. S giving me advice on how to block out the “white noise” before getting on and neighbours like the Auclair’s encouraging me a lot. Plus, I’m a LaValley so I’m pretty much related to half the town.”
Some advice from Dustin to others from Bezanson: “The advice I would give would be that just because you’re from a small town where the big bucks is in the oil field you shouldn’t just go along and do what everyone else does. Take a chance and move away and aim for bigger goals.”
We wish Dustin the best for his new adventure in Texas and hope to see him continue to do great things. Good luck on your 2017-2018 college school year Dustin.
Ally Pilgrim
Photo Credits: S & S Photography