Tools of My Trade
1 Ariana Piscitelli ’15 juggles two lives. At Willamette, she majors in biology and environmental science, and commutes to campus each day from her home in Newberg. Her other life? She’s the 2014 Tillamook County Rodeo Queen — a role that keeps her (and her horse, Diva) in demand at rodeos, signing autographs and serving as an ambassador for the Northwest Professional Rodeo Association. The tools of her trade mash up the practical and the glamorous:
2
1. Cowboy hat “A rodeo queen is never seen without her hat on. If your hat falls off in the arena, your head better be in it,” she says. 2. Red lipstick “You want to wear the color of lipstick that goes best with your shirts, and I usually wear red shirts (one of the colors representing the Tillamook County Rodeo). My favorite brand of lipstick is Revlon ColorBurst. It’s like a crayon and it stays on super well. So I always, always have that with me for every parade and every rodeo.”
3
3. Belt buckle When she was about 10 years old, Piscitelli won this belt buckle — her first — from the Northwest Youth Rodeo Association for her skills in barrel racing. “It started my whole rodeo adventure,” she says. 4. Chaps “I custom picked the hide from California, and a local chap maker made these for me. They are exactly what I wanted. When people see these chaps, they know I’m coming.”
4
5. Boots “Riders must wear a boot with a heel, so you can easily slip out of the stirrup if you fall off a horse. Otherwise, you’d be dragged around the arena,” Piscitelli says. “These are my lucky boots. I wore them when I competed for my title, and I won. I wear them everywhere.” For more photos of Ariana in both her lives — as an aspiring veterinarian and a rodeo queen — go to willamette.edu/go/ariana.
5 4
FALL 2014