Scholarship Recipient ~Bettina Curletto

Hi my name is Bettina Curletto, I am a 17 year old from Lafayette, California and I am one of the recipients for NJWRC college scholarship. I started 4-H as a 6-year old, 11 years ago and immediately joined the Rabbit Project. I learned early on about shows, and fell in love with showing my Jersey Wooly REW doe, Snooki (the best name for a girl from Jersey - thank you, Cindy Oldham). Throughout my time in the Rabbit Project, I’ve started my own breeding line, been to seven National ARBA Conventions, participating in not only the breed shows, but the youth contests as well. I have also had the honor of sweeping 2 Groups, BOB, BOSB, and wool awards at a Jersey Wooly Nationals show in 2021. This was an especially great accomplishment since I did this when I had only 6 rabbits in my barn at the time. I entered them all and all but one took home an award. I have been the winner of sweepstakes for my district almost every year for the last six years or so. The rabbit Youth Competitions have also been a big part of my journey. My California State and District 2 teams have won multiple National awards in rabbit judging and quiz bowl. I regularly place in Royalty, Judging and Showmanship. This passion for rabbits has also allowed me to grow my leadership skills as I’m now the project leader for my 4-H club’s Beginning Rabbits Project.

Out- side of rabbits, I also own 3 angora goats, which I show at Fair. Because I want to teach people about animals and I wanted a closer place to keep my goats, I was very motivated to create a goat enclosure at my school. I am Founder and President of the Goat Club and we regularly allow teachers and students to in- teract with and learn about goats. Another passion of mine is cheerleading. I have been a cheerleader all 4 years of high school and was the Captain for two of those years.

All of these activities, as well as my part time job as a lifeguard, take an immense amount of time and energy. This has made it more difficult to attend rabbit shows as often as I did as a young kid, but I still love showing, and my love for rabbits started me down the college path I am on and will always be credited as making me the person I’ve become today. I am truly thankful for the help I’ve received from many breeders, but especially Timmy Bauer, Amber Henderson and Angel LeSage who helped me pick my stock to create my line. I’m confident that the experiences I’ve had for the last 11 years with rabbits will continue as I study Environmental Science at Montana State University and beyond. I certainly see myself continuing to mentor and help others learn more about their rabbits and grow their love and respect for agriculture and animals.

Hi my name is Bettina Curletto, I am a 17 year old from Lafayette, California and I am one of the recipients for NJWRC college scholarship. I started 4-H as a 6-year old, 11 years ago and immediately joined the Rabbit Project. I learned early on about shows, and fell in love with showing my Jersey Wooly REW doe, Snooki (the best name for a girl from Jersey - thank you, Cindy Oldham). Throughout my time in the Rabbit Project, I’ve started my own breeding line, been to seven National ARBA Conventions, participating in not only the breed shows, but the youth contests as well. I have also had the honor of sweeping 2 Groups, BOB, BOSB, and wool awards at a Jersey Wooly Nationals show in 2021. This was an especially great accomplishment since I did this when I had only 6 rabbits in my barn at the time. I entered them all and all but one took home an award. I have been the winner of sweepstakes for my district almost every year for the last six years or so. The rabbit Youth Competitions have also been a big part of my journey. My California State and District 2 teams have won multiple National awards in rabbit judging and quiz bowl. I regularly place in Royalty, Judging and Showmanship. This passion for rabbits has also allowed me to grow my leadership skills as I’m now the project leader for my 4-H club’s Beginning Rabbits Project. Outside of rabbits, I also own 3 angora goats, which I show at Fair. Because I want to teach people about animals and I wanted a closer place to keep my goats, I was very motivated to create a goat enclosure at my school. I am Founder and President of the Goat Club and we regularly allow teachers and students to interact with and learn about goats. Another passion of mine is cheerleading. I have been a cheerleader all 4 years of high school and was the Captain for two of those years.

All of these activities, as well as my part time job as a lifeguard, take an immense amount of time and energy. This has made it more difficult to attend rabbit shows as often as I did as a young kid, but I still love showing, and my love for rabbits started me down the college path I am on and will always be credited as making me the person I’ve become today. I am truly thankful for the help I’ve received from many breeders, but especially Timmy Bauer, Amber Henderson and Angel LeSage who helped me pick my stock to create my line. I’m confident that the experiences I’ve had for the last 11 years with rabbits will continue as I study Environmental Science at Montana State University and beyond. I certainly see myself continuing to mentor and help others learn more about their rabbits and grow their love and respect for agriculture and animals.