STEPHENVILLE, Texas — For Josie Fladager, finding a community and a place that felt like home made all the difference. That’s what led her to Tarleton State University.
She will talk about her educational journey as the student commencement speaker at Friday’s 3 p.m. graduation ceremony, during which she will receive a master’s in agricultural leadership, education and communications. This will be her second degree from Tarleton State.
Before deciding on where to attend college, Fladager considered other universities, but what set Tarleton State apart for her was the campus culture.
“When I came to Tarleton State it felt more like home, more like a community,” she said. “When I walked the campus, I knew this was where I needed to be.”
A native of Anson in West Texas, Fladager comes from a family with ranching history. Growing up riding and running barrels, heading to Tarleton State to pursue her education and compete on the rodeo team seemed like a natural fit.
“I started as an agribusiness major,” she said. “I took several business classes in high school and my mom was the business teacher, so I was comfortable in the program.”
Comfort was not enough, however, when she realized a growing passion.
As a high school senior, she had worked as a freelance journalist writing event recaps for the WPRA News, the official publication of the Women’s Professional Rodeo Association.
“I’d been doing that for a couple of years, and I liked the business program,” she said. “But I realized it wasn’t what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I liked writing, but I didn’t really know what ag communications was.
“I changed my major when I felt I was being called in a different direction. By the time I finished the first semester in ag communications I had taken a couple of basic courses. On the advice of my equine certificate advisor, Dr. Trinette Jones, I applied for an editorial internship with the American Paint Horse Association and got it. I worked in the Fort Worth Stockyards and the Will Rogers Memorial Center that summer and loved it.”
Since switching her course of study, Fladager has been heavily involved in equine media and western event production, including an internship with the National Western Stock Show and Rodeo in Denver, four years in public relations and rodeo production at the Utah Days of ’47 Rodeo in Salt Lake City, and as office help and secretary for CK Productions.
Besides being on the Tarleton State rodeo team, she has been a non-competitive member of the stock horse team, a graduate teaching assistant in agricultural communications and a challenge leader for the Paradigm College Ministry.
When composing her speech, Fladager drew upon lessons she’d learned at Tarleton State.
“Coming to Stephenville was a special moment in my life,” she said. “When I left home my mom told me, ‘Make a life of your own.’ That’s a big part of college, and I think that happened when I changed my major.
“The entire process has been a testament to God’s faithfulness. I don’t know who I am to be speaking to 10,000 people, but that’s where He put me and I want to be faithful in that.”
A founding member of The Texas A&M System, Tarleton State University is breaking records — in enrollment, research, scholarship, athletics, philanthropy and engagement — while transforming the lives of more than 21,000 students in Stephenville, Fort Worth, Waco, Bryan and online. For over 125 years, Tarleton State has been committed to accessible higher education opportunities for all while helping students grow academically, socially and professionally through programs that emphasize real world learning and address regional, state and national needs.