Students selected to lead Clovia House
Two agribusiness students, Hannah Ballard and Kaitlin Bell, were recently elected as President and Vice President of the Alpha of Clovia 4-H Cooperative Leadership House. Women of Clovia live together in a cooperative manner – sharing housework and later responsibilities to reduce the overall cost of living.
The opportunity to live among women with similar backgrounds, while reducing housing costs, focusing on academics, philanthropy and social activities is the main reason many young women apply to Clovia.
"Through my involvement in 4-H and FFA, Clovia has been a great fit for me, allowing me to connect with other girls from across the country who grew up the same way I did," Bell said.
Ballard is sophomore in Agribusiness. She grew up in Madison, Kansas on a cow calf, custom grazing, and row crop operation. Growing up she was actively involved in 4-H. At K-State, she has been on the wool judging team, a part of Quest freshman honorary society and the Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness club.
Bell is a senior majoring in Agribusiness with a minor in Animal Science and Industry. In addition to her involvement with 4-H and FFA, she was also a member of the Pennsylvania Junior Angus Association while growing up. At K-State is a member of the Meat and Livestock Judging Teams.
With COVID-19 making gatherings difficult for many organizations, Clovia has made an effort to give house tours to show girls what it’s like to live in the house. Both Ballard and Bell have been working on plans to host a family weekend during the upcoming fall semester and a hospitality weekend where prospective members can come and visit with active members to help recruit new members. Clovia will be also hosting a national meeting with its sister chapter, Beta of Clovia, from the University of Minnesota.
“I am excited to serve and represent Clovia as a whole. Being a leader during this time will be challenging, but rewarding. I look forward to learning and growing as I go through my term as President," Ballard said. “The best part of Clovia is the girls! They are truly such a good group of driven, motivated and inspiring young women."
Bell who grew up on a small cow-calf operation in Southeastern Pennsylvania and the relationships with her housemates are a big part of why she chose to serve as Vice President.
“For me, the friendships I have made are by far the most rewarding. Being 1,200 miles away from home, living here has given me an amazing group of young ladies that have become some of my closest friends," Bell said. “I am extremely excited to work with Hannah and the rest of the officer team throughout the year to help welcome girls into the house and make friendships that will last a lifetime.”
