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15 – 17 Year Old Girl Group Winner
Student Name: Kaitlyn Mccormick
School: Broken Arrow High School
Grade: 11
Age: 16
Teacher: Dean Hopp
Hunting: Sharing the Heritage
For my family the best place for parents to spend time with
daughters reflecting, communicating, handing down values,
providing guidance, and building memories is the deer
woods. Since the time I was young father/daughter hunting
trips have played a very important role in my life and have
helped shape who I am today. Each year my father, sister
and I look forward to deer season not only for the hunting,
but also for the time we get to spend together without the
interruption of electronics or busy schedules where lasting
bonds and memories to last a lifetime are created.
Hunting is a legacy that was passed down from my “pop”
(grandfather) to my dad. Although my dad always wanted a
son to continue the family tradition with, he was blessed
with two daughters. Dad was resigned that he would
probably have to hunt alone after Pop’s death, but was
thrilled when my older sister began to hunt with him. At the
age of seven I chose to go along and sit in the woods with
my dad. I was in awe of the beauty of nature and
immediately knew I shared the same passion as my dad and
sister. As the youngest member of my hunting family I know
I have a lot to live up to, but there is no greater feeling than
the pride I see in my dad when I shoot a deer. The hugs and
high fives are shared by all three of us, however that
moment when h wraps his arm around my shoulder, looks
me in the eye and says, “Good Shot, girl! That’s Awesome!”
I know that hunting with his daughters means more to my
dad than claiming the biggest of bucks.
Hunting with my dad and sister has played a big part in
developing my character, given me passion, and fostered a
relationship with my dad and sister that will forever be a
part of me. My sister and I both learned self-reliance
through hunting by finding ways to warm and being aware
of surroundings in order to not get lost. We learned to
appreciate nature, but most importantly are the values that
we learned such as generosity when each year we donate a
processed deer to a food bank; responsibility through using
a firearm; patience as I sit for hours in the woods waiting
quietly; courage when I took my nervous first steps into the
woods; gratitude for the land and the gifts it provides; and
self-control as I wait for the perfect shot sometimes
foregoing a shot until something bigger and better.
According to Dr. Don T Jacobs, author of Teaching Virtues,
“hunting is the ideal way to teach universal virtues.” I am
blessed to be raised in a family where hunting has been
passed from generation to generation and these values
cultivated through the years. The lessons I have gained
through hunting will continue to positively have an effect on
me for life.