CASNR student raises a voice for agriculture

Sing
For
What
Matters
Most
By: Michelle Hochstein
Photo by: Marcie Byrom
casnr student
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i
o
v
ar i s es a
for agriculture
Singing and song writing have allowed one
Texas Tech student to represent her love
of agriculture in a way not many people get
to experience.
Junior agricultural communications student
Denae Schertz plans to audition for “The Voice”
for the second time this summer in Austin, Texas.
As a traditional farm raised girl and member of
Collegiate FFA, Agricultural Communicators of
Tomorrow, Block and Bridle and Sigma Alpha
Rho, Schertz said agriculture has had a heavy
impact on her life.
“I am influenced heavily by my background
and lifestyle of the farm as I write my lyrics,”
Schertz said.
With her experience from “The Voice,”
Schertz said she learned some valuable
information about the music and television
industries.
“Trying out for ‘The Voice’ the first time
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“I can represent
agriculture
greatly through
singing because
it’s the only
constant thing in
my life.”
Denae Schertz
was very overwhelming because it was a huge
event and I’m just a small town girl,” Schertz said.
“The experience overall was amazing and opened
my eyes to new styles of music and gave me a
great opportunity to meet other vocalists within
the industry.”
Schertz got her start in performing when
she was little, but had an opportunity to come
closer to her dream after graduating high school.
She got a job as a singer at a Decatur, Texas,
steakhouse called Sweetie Pie’s Ribeyes.
“I performed live every night in front
of a crowd of at least a hundred,” Schertz said.
“I worked there for about a year and really got
to practice on performer presence, breathe
control and nerve stability. I loved it because the
customers who came in usually had some sort
of an ag background, and I got to make a lot of
connections and even met a few people in the
music business.”
Before coming to Texas Tech, Schertz
attended Cisco Junior College in Cisco, Texas.
There, she was a member of the softball team,
playing pitcher and second base. She said that her
background in agriculture taught her how to reach
her goals.
“Growing up in agriculture has taught
me many things – from how to treat people
with respect to putting my heart and soul into
everything I do,” Schertz said. “Realizing my love
for sports, I used the knowledge from the farm
and decided to put everything I had into softball.”
Schertz said she attributes most of her
perseverance to both the lessons her family taught
her and her experiences she had growing up.
“My parents and my family always taught
me that life is hard, but if you stick to what you
know and where your heart is rooted then nothing
can get you down or hold you back,” Schertz said.
“Playing college sports at any level is very extreme,
and workouts are very difficult. If I wouldn’t have
had an ag related background, I truly believe I
would have given up. Instead, I conquered and
learned many valuable lessons.”
In the future, Schertz said she hopes to
work with cattle shows or someday own her
own business. Her work ethic and agricultural
background will prove to be great assets to
these plans.
She has already proven her continuing
Photo by: Marcie Byrom
success through her involvement in student
organizations on campus and her work as the
communications intern for the Wise County
Youth Fair. She said she is excited to audition
for “The Voice” again and aspires to continue the
agricultural traditions of her family.
“Growing up on the harvest farm and
living next door to all my family members is an
experience that a lot do not get,” Schertz said.
“I’m very thankful for being able to learn from
such family oriented and agriculture driven
people. I believe I can represent agriculture
greatly through singing because it’s the only
constant thing in my life.”