Episode 066 - Behind the Byline: Shelby Shank’s Unfiltered Story

Shelby Shank: Feels weird to say that it's my favorite, but it's when we covered the Panhandle wildfires last year that one was really cool, just because, I mean, it was a very heartbreaking situation, but it was really cool to be like, Oh, I'm being a part of, like, writing history for people.

Taylor McAdams: Hey everybody, thank you again for tuning in to the Kick Your Boots Up podcast, you guys. This is season three of the podcast. It has been a long time coming. I know I personally have learned so much from you guys, our loyal listeners. The best thing that I've learned from season one and season two has been how kind you guys are. I felt like when I was doing some teaser stuff preparing for season three, you guys just reached out with the kindest words, the best advice that I truly appreciate. So keep it coming. I'm never going to be offended if you send me a DM or write a comment. That's good or bad. I want to hear it all. So thank you again. And speaking of a big thank you, I've got to give a shout out to our top three states that are the most listened to. So Texas is number one. It's a given. We're here in Fort Worth. But I really challenge the other states, because I feel like Texas has like, a big target on its back. So I don't know about you guys, but step it up. Maybe we can kick Texas out of number one, and then Virginia and Washington. Thank you guys so much. I don't know what you're doing, but keep doing it. Keep sharing it with your friends, and if you're not in the top three states, this is officially a challenge. I challenge you to like, subscribe, share this with at least three friends today. Let's get your state mentioned in the next episode. I would so appreciate it, and I can't say thank you enough. So without further ado, we're gonna get started for our first episode of season three, and we're starting it off with a bang. This is one of my good friends. We go back about five years, but it feels like with social media, when we've been able to keep in touch and get to know each other even better over the years. I have so many things that I'm gonna introduce this lady to you guys with, but I think I'm gonna lead with my favorite fun fact about Shelby. Shelby is a dog mom to a Golden Retriever named boots that is honestly equally as cool as her. Like, if she was a dog, it would be boots like I just love keeping up with their adventures and everything that they do. So ladies and gentlemen, this is Shelby shank. She's the field reporter for the Texas Farm Bureau, and I'm so excited to have you here on the podcast. Awesome.

Shelby Shank: Thank you. That was really sweet intro. Boots also has his own Instagram, and that boots underscore scooting boogie. That's right, I forgot. Sorry. I'm his, like, personal manager, but Yeah,

Taylor McAdams: Honestly, it's about time that they start earning their money and paying for rent. 

Shelby Shank: I know he really does need to, especially with, like, recent events, I've had to, like, take him to the vet. He has really had allergies. Okay, yeah, so that's fun to navigate.

Taylor McAdams: Yeah, yeah. I hate that for you, but I can't wait to hear more stories about it, because one of my friends has a golden retriever that has to go to the vet a lot, and it's like a traumatic experience. And you should probably form a support group for other golden retriever moms. They probably should no but something that's really cool about you, and I'm so thankful that I was able to catch you here in Fort Worth this week is by the time this podcast is out, Shelby will have been inducted into cowgirl magazines 30, under 30 the class of 2025, huge accomplishment. First of all, congratulations. Thank you. Thank you. You're welcome. That is so fun. I know about a year ago, this time, you were talking about it like, what can I do? What's going on? And I'm so happy to see you here. What do you think this weekend is gonna like, what do you think is gonna happen this weekend? What do you think you're gonna do? 

Shelby Shank: I think this weekend, I'm just really excited to one, get to know everyone. This is such a, like, big life accomplishment for me. And then very like answered prayer, yeah. So just really excited to be a part of it, get to see everyone, get to know everyone, and just learn from the women around me, and then to further God's kingdom, and just really bring awareness to the Western way of life, into agriculture and Yeah. And it honestly, this feels, whenever we sit here and talk about it, it feels like two girls being fake about, like, spending time with other girls or whatever, but like, genuinely, you know, it's one night or the gala. The gala is at least one night, but this year, it's like a whole week, weekend situation, but you just are fulfilled with women that are running towards the same goals as yours. And it's, it's not competition. They're not, you know, they're to be ugly to each other. It's literally, honestly, like, a positive pink bubble or something like, shout out to COVID magazine for doing it, because there's only 30 every year. And it's, it only started in like, 2020, so 30 times five, like, there's only that many women. And so it's, it's really cool. So I'm very proud of you in that sense. I know it's gonna be the best weekend. It's gonna be exhausting. So my best advice, I guess, is, like, drink all the coffee. Drink all the things, espresso martinis. There we go. You get a little coffee, little alcohol, whatever. Okay, but the question Shelby that I have, like, wanted to ask you and shame. On me for not sending you a voice text, or, like, texting you about it, but I'm so glad that we got to save it for the podcast, because about a year ago, my coworker, who is very in tune with, like, pop culture and what Gen Z is doing, she was teaching me a new language that Gen Z is speaking. And I was like, This is the craziest thing I've ever heard. But then I used it in real life, at the swimming pool, at my apartment, and these kids that definitely know, like, what? Some of the like, skippity toilet and stuff, they were like, what she She's old, and she knows that, okay, but you're the first person that is from Ohio, Cincinnati, Ohio. You guys, you're the first person that is from Ohio that I've been able to talk to, because there's a phrase that Gen Z is saying now, and it's like, Ew, that's so Ohio. So what is your thoughts about that? How does that make you feel being from Ohio? Um, I'm honestly, like, a little indifferent on it. Okay, um, I'm really grateful that I grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio. I was, I grew up on the outskirts of it, so not in the city. I was more in like, a suburban kind of area. So that's kind of like, where my ag tie comes in, yeah, but, um, yeah, I'm really indifferent to it. I'm grateful to be from there. There's things back home that, like, I still hold true to myself, like Skyline chili, which is where we put chili on spaghetti noodles. A lot of people think that's gross, but hey, when you grew up with it, like, it's good,

Taylor McAdams: okay, hang on. I grew up calling it chili three-way. 

Shelby Shank: Okay, yeah, okay, Oklahoma and Ohio are the same one. Okay,

Shelby Shank: Okay. This makes me happy, because my coworkers, they give me such a hard time about it.

Taylor McAdams: Skyline, chili. Okay, that's interesting.

Shelby Shank:  but yeah, so grateful for Ohio, but really grateful to be living in Texas. I don't foresee myself moving to Ohio again. I very much claim Texas as home. Wow.

Taylor McAdams: And I mean, I'm selfishly glad you're here, being from Oklahoma transplant as well. In Texas, we just discovered when I was booking you for the show, that you're actually in Waco, which I don't know why I was thinking you were further. So shame on us for not actually hanging out more than we do, but there's people in Fort Worth that I don't even see. So shame on us. But anyways, I am so glad that we started off talking about this, because tell us a little bit more about how you grew up, what it was like, especially because you were in rural America, but you still had some inner city you know, I think school? Did you go to school in the city? Okay? 

Shelby Shank: So talk about that. Yeah. So originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, didn't really grow up in agriculture. And I always tell people this, that I got started in agriculture because I wanted a pet pig. But it also goes a step further than that, that I don't really tell my mom, but now she, like, knows it, and it's funny, but there was a cute boy in 4h who showed pigs. And I of course wanted to show pigs too and be around this cute boy, but so I started showing pigs in high school. Got really involved in the program. If 4h was attached to it, like I was involved in it. And really got my start in agriculture. From there, really grew a passion for it. Knew that I wanted to study something in agriculture, just wasn't sure what that was. And then God placed me in a small town of Murray, Kentucky, which is about six hours from Ohio. Wow. So I went to Murray State University for undergrad. Studied animal science, but took more of like a marketing and communications kind of role, or not really role, but path through that. So really grateful for the people that I met in Murray. I worked at our university hog farm, managed our Facebook page with them, our sale pages, met some really awesome mentors there, Matt and Alex Schultz. They're really sweet individuals. Love their family. And then all throughout college, I just really gave myself a goal, that I was going to do an internship every summer, and God willing, that I was able to make that happen. I took all the internships, met all the people, and that just wound me up going to Texas Tech University for grad school, where I got my master's in agricultural communications, the Raiders, right, yes. Okay. Red Raiders, yeah. Red Raiders.

Taylor McAdams: The only time you're, oh, is it one? Okay, well, we do this.

Shelby Shank: So yeah, it was in Lubbock for about 18 months for my master's loved living out there. If I could move anywhere, I'd probably move back to Lubbock and West Texas is very partial to my heart. And then as I was finishing up my thesis, I was like, Man, I really want to make sure I have a job, like, after I graduate. Like, that was just my goal all throughout school, is like, I'm going to have a job after I graduate. And so I took, like, a little break from working on my thesis and started job hunting. Wasn't really sure, like, what I wanted to do, but like, whenever people would ask, like, hey, what do you want to do after graduation? And I would always say, I want to be the voice of agriculture, and I want to share people's stories, whether that's like, with an ag organization, a farm bureau or something like that. Like, that's something that I want to do. Wow. And so when I saw. The Field editor position open at Texas Farm Bureau. Read through it. It was, like, lots of writing, some social media, photography, traveling across the state. I was like, Is this real? Like, this is literally my dream job.

Taylor McAdams: Check, check, check. Like, all the boxes are checking. Yeah, wow.

Shelby Shank: And so I applied my first interview with my current boss. This is, like, my number one God, God moment. I love to share it with people, because it's like, very clear that he wanted me to be in Waco and in this position. But I remember our first phone call. She we were able to identify three different individuals that we each had connections to in different areas of our life. And that was really sweet for me. So the first one was one of my professors at Murray, was one of her professors at Tarleton. And then one summer, I did an internship at Indiana Farm Bureau, and I worked with her sister in law. And then I was doing some work with cultivate agency, and she knew them with, like, some of her previous work, and, like, being involved with the cattle industry. And I was like, That's so crazy that, like, we're able to identify all of these people in different areas of our life. And so that was just, like, a really sweet moment to like, Okay, I meant to be here. 

Taylor McAdams: That is so cool, and I'm so glad you brought faith into it, because you guys know I love to talk about that on the podcast, but I always wait for the guests to do it first. But one thing I have to say about Shelby is before when the cameras are off, she was like, Hey, do you mind if we pray over this podcast? And truly, like, when that happens, peace just just comes into the room, and it came into this interview, but then over your time and your story, I can tell that you were praying like prayerfully making steps, which means that it was like another door opened, or at least a crack. You know, it was like, opening up even more. And that's so cool. And I think that's a big part of my story, too. Like, I can relate to you with that is, like, at one point in time, especially in college, I was like, super, like, lost, probably wanting to go a little bit off the beaten path and, like, questioning a lot of things in life, right? And that's actually one of the turning points, was when we did our internship together at the cowboy channel. Because I remember being like, okay, the only way that I would survive in this environment, fast paced, stressful, is like, let go, let God. And from that moment, I feel like every year it's been like I felt his presence more like, I don't even know how to explain it, but yeah. But you know what I'm saying, yeah. So let's go back a little bit to the internship with the cowboy channel. It was a crazy time. Yes, did you think it was worth it getting to where you are now? Talk about that, because I know, like, there's a lot of listeners that are about to start applying for internships, or, like, hoping to get one for the summer. Ours was, like, super unique, because it was, like, NFR centric. But yeah, talk about it.

Shelby Shank:   Yes, our internship with cowboy channel is very unique. It was during the 2020, NFR when it was in Fort Worth, and then I was able to come back for the American Yes, and that was really sweet. I honestly applied on a whim. I saw someone post that they were accepting applications for internships. And I was like, Oh, I think I could do this. Like, at that point, most of my classes were online. So I was like, Yeah, I can, like, spend two weeks in Fort Worth. 

Taylor McAdams:   And that was a positive about COVID, yeah, like, there's lots of negative things, obviously, lots of hurt. But a positive that we chose to see positive is, like, classes are online. Now let's go

Shelby Shank: yes. So it was definitely worth it. I'm trying to remember, like, everything that we did, but I just remember, yeah, I just remember, like, feeling so grateful for the people that I met during that internship, and just like, how God intentionally placed them into my life, and that I'm able to, like, still connect with them today, like I may have to connect with you. Megan rebel, like, that's just so fun and like, so sweet that, like, I was able to make these connections. And, I mean, look at where we are today?

Taylor McAdams:  Yeah, no, because of that, it's huge, and I'll never forget my roommate and I, at the time are there. I think this was during the American, I guess I don't even know, yeah, during the American are like pipes had burst, yes, and I really got to know you when I stayed I was like, Megan, I'm coming to crash your hotel room. I need to take a shower all the things. And you and Megan had shared a room or whatever, and so I was like, okay, cool. And that was, like, a good opportunity to, like, really get to know you and stuff. And, yeah, it's just so fun. I love talking about the past, because not only are we in the time, like before our 30s, I feel like our 20s are for like, figuring life out. And it's been so fun to figure out life alongside you and the other girls as well. You know, we'll have to get together sometime. Hopefully this weekend is a thing. But yeah, if not, I know that, like Megan's here a lot, rebels here a lot, maybe we can, like, figure it out with all of our busy schedules. That's something we need to talk about too, before we get to know you a little bit deeper, because I remember being like, younger 20s and being like, how are you supposed to hang out and make time for everyone in college when you're all right there in the same town, let alone now, when we're adults, we all do things. So talk about, like, your life back home, and how you balance, like friends and work and personal time, and you love fashion, so like fashion and shopping. Just talk about your time management, balance all that. Okay, fun stuff. 

Shelby Shank: I feel like I'm not really good at time management, but maybe I am.

Taylor McAdams:  I don't know, it looks like you are. So it's all good, right?   

Shelby Shank: I'm just really grateful for the place that I'm in. Now, I mentioned earlier that, like, if I can move anywhere, would be Lubbock, Texas. Waco Texas is a very interesting town, okay, talk about it. I don't know, really know how to describe it, other than saying that, like it's a popcorn town. So if anyone from Waco is listening to this, I'm so sorry if you love Waco, yeah. But like, so I'm on my street. If I turn left, I see like, half million dollar homes. If I turn right, I go to a sketchy heb that I'm never gonna go to. I will travel 20 minutes to a different heb and get my groceries there. Yeah, good to know. Yeah. So waco is very interesting, but I'm really grateful for the community that I've built there. When I moved to Waco, I was like, Okay, this where I'm gonna settle down and, like, plant some roots and things like that. So I wanted to get plugged into a really awesome church, and thankfully, found myself at Harris Creek, yes, and at Harris Creek. So if you know anything about Harris Creek. Our pastor is JP. We have a podcast called becoming something their conferences this weekend. So I'm really, I'm really bummed to miss it, but I know my friends are going to send me some updates. So really grateful for that church and just how it has like, transformed my faith, my community there is just like everything to me of living in Waco, so really involved in the church. I guess that's how I like hang out with people. Yeah, funny story, when I went to the dentist, she noticed my dental hygienist noticed that I was reading, like I had a book in my purse, and she's like, do you want to join my book club? And I was like, Yes, I love to read, and I want to make more friends. So now I'm in like, a book club with my dental hygienist and her friends, and we're gonna celebrate her 30th birthday coming up. So that's really fun. You had a great dentist experience? Yes, I'll try not. Yep, I love going there, and then I'm just really blessed to have friends like all throughout the country from college and just various internships and just staying connected with them through social media. There's girls from college that I Snapchat every day and like, still feel like I'm really connected to them. I don't know if they really answer your time management question, but no,

Taylor McAdams: it did, because you showed us like, the ins and outs of like and making friends is a good point that you touched on, because it's incredibly hard to make friends, especially after college. Yeah, it's a little bit easier. In college, you had classes together. You were forced to be with people based on, like, organizations or whatever. But like, now it's like, oh, I went to the dentist, and that was a highlight. Like, literally, people do not understand how hard it is, especially nowadays with like, phones and dating apps and all that stuff. I was on the dating scene, like, right when Bumble was a thing, uh huh. So I was like, I like, bumble at least, because I can, like, I have the power to say yes or no or whatever. I don't like that. Oh, really, you want them to pursue Yes. Okay, okay, so let's talk about that. Then, are you single? Right now? Are you? Yes,

Shelby Shank: I'm single. I currently have my hinge on pause, though, because dating waco is not it. Y'all like, it's, it's just weird. So I'm single. Don't know what to do about it, but here we are.

Taylor McAdams: You know what we have to talk about. What your boss said? What did she say? 

Shelby Shank: So before I came up to Fort Worth for like, this week and everything that it entails, and she was like, Can you set your hinge to, like, Fort Worth this weekend? Like, maybe you'll meet someone. I was like, Julie, I already have it, like, at 100 mile radius, I'm getting people from Austin and Fort Worth. I was like, it's it's not happening. So if I meet someone, great. If not, that's okay too.

Taylor McAdams:  Maybe you can get a boyfriend out of this podcast. Yeah, that might be the new thing. Like, forget dating apps. Let's just go on podcasts. Introduce people right next time you're in town, I promise I'll have, like, eligible bachelors lined up. Okay? Plan better. No, I love that, though, because it's so hard to make friends. But then also, like dating, and then like dealing with the virtual apps and, like, i My heart goes out to you, and there's a lot of this sounds sad girls, if you're listening this isn't what I mean. But like, there's a lot of girls on our team that are single, and like, hearing them, like, they'll be so excited for a date, and then he'll stand them up, or, like, they'll go on a date, but then they're either like, stage five clinger or, like, questionable murderer. You know, there's really no, like, it's so weird, there's diamonds in your mouth. And one of my older co workers right now actually is stoked because she found someone on an app. And I'm like, Okay, so maybe it's not for our 20s, you know, maybe it is for later on in life, we'll see. But that's kind of like, so hard to maneuver. So I'm I hate that for you, but luckily, it's okay. You're in Fort Worth this weekend, and there's lots of opportunity there, and it's all gonna be good. It's all gonna work out. And your mom is coming.

Shelby Shank: Yes, she's flying in from Ohio tomorrow. I feel bad she has to Uber from the airport to the hotel, but hey, I'm have a busy week, but I'm so grateful that she's gonna be here in town for it, and then she will be here for a week afterwards, and stuff like that. So good. Okay, so good. 

Taylor McAdams: Spend some intentional time with her and the drive back to Waco, plus, like, getting to see you in your normal life, that's good, too. And you and your mom have a cool relationship. I think that's so rare. I mean, it depends probably 5050, depending on, like, the situation, but talk to us a little bit about how cool it is to have a mom that is so invested in your life, you're probably like, she's a lot sometimes, but like, different perspective is cool,too.

Shelby Shank: So my mom is a saint, and she's gonna giggle so hard when she, like, listens to this and realizes that I'm talking about her on a podcast. No, she's so sweet. I honestly called her maybe, like, a couple weeks ago, just after having some conversations with friends and them talking about their relationship with their mom, like, my heart, honestly, kind of broke for them, and so I called my mom. Was like, Mom, I'm so grateful to have such a good relationship with you, like listening to other people's stories of like their relationships like, I'm so thankful that ours is not like that. And I don't know if there there's anything to attribute to how close we are, but it's just really sweet that she's someone I can tell anything to. She's my biggest supporter. She sent me a photo of a card that her co worker sent her address to, like, the both of us saying, like, Shelby, we're so excited for you. Congratulations. We're so excited that you get to spend this time with your mom. And they were like, your mom just glows when she talks about you. And I was like, that's so sweet. So yeah, I'm just really grateful for my relationship with her. She's my best friend, and I love, like, sharing everything with her.

Taylor McAdams:  that is so cool. And I truly do love that, and I can feel like the passion too, like that's that's so cool to see, and it's gonna be kind of hard this weekend, like balancing, like, Mom time, friend time, granted. I know you have the next week with your mom or whatever. But what do you think is gonna be like, the most sentimental moment about the weekend? Like, do you think it's gonna be you get to give a speech, right? Okay, so do you think it's gonna be that? Or do you think it's gonna be like in the small moments?

Shelby Shank:  Okay, this might sound really so silly, and I hope it doesn't sound like superficial or anything or materialistic. It's a safe place here. Nobody will judge. But I'm really excited to get the 30 under 30 cuff. I've seen women before me like, have it, they wear it to like, various events and things like that, or they wear it every day. And I'm just so excited to be a part of that and to also wear the cuff, and, of course, show it off in a non bragging way, but,

Taylor McAdams: But also, like, this is the weekend to brag about. Like, they're all gonna have one, yeah.

Shelby Shank: Like, so just really grateful for that. This is kind of a fun story that I haven't really like shared with anyone, but, you know, I applied last year. I didn't get it, which is fine, but they gave me the opportunity to purchase tickets and go to the gala last year. And I was like, of course, I'm gonna take that, like, make some connections while I can. And so I kept my ticket from that, and I put it at my desk. I have one of those little like, organizers where you put, like, pens and notebooks and things like that. And I just put my ticket there. And I wasn't gonna, like, forget to apply again, but I was like, This is gonna be a sweet reminder that, like, this is a goal that I'm working towards. And so then I applied, and I shouldn't have used my work email, because they, like, filter our emails of like, when what comes through and what doesn't. And so I didn't know I got it until Megan actually messaged me and she said, Congratulations, you got it. And I was like, What are you talking about? And she sent me the article, and I saw my face. I was like, Oh my gosh, I got 30 under 30. Like, that's awesome.So yeah, little sweet story that I kept my ticket at my desk. It's still there. Little Sweet memento. 

Taylor McAdams: And I honestly love that. That's the most Shelby thing, most Taylor thing, too. Because you're like, kind of out of sight, out of mind, and then all sudden, you're like,

Shelby Shank: Wait, what happened? And I go back to my emails and be like, oh, there it is. I did get it. It's not junk, it's not a fish. Yeah? So funny.

Taylor McAdams: And that is a sweet little story too, because it made it the moment with Megan special too. Like you have that memory with Megan forever. Yeah? That's so cool. No, I love that. That's like, super cool. Okay, so on a more personal level, we've, I don't know how we can get more personal than your dating life, but one thing that I'm really interested in and like love hearing girls talk about on other podcasts is, like, their favorite things that they've loved lately or like, specifically, like skincare or makeup. So tell us about some of the things that you like will not leave the house without, or like you swear by right now, whatever. Okay,

Shelby Shank: I recently discovered this. I know that Charlotte Tilbury has, like, been talked about the pillow talk lipstick, yes, well, I got that shade. Love it. But then I noticed that they have a fair one, like, for fair skin people, and I'm fair skin, so it's like, Okay, I'm gonna try this. I put it on and y'all, it's literally the best color ever. I'm really picky about lipsticks, of them being like, too orangey when I'm kind of going for like, a moavi Pink and whatnot. And that's what Charlotte Tilbury Pillow Talk fair gives me. So I love that. That's one of my current favorites right now. No, this is just a regular pillow talk one, so it looks good, but Pillow Talk fair a. Love that. One, what else am I loving I'm currently doing the she reads truth lent study, and this is my first study doing, or like, first she reads truth study that I'm doing. And one, yeah, and I'm really enjoying it. Have to confess, I haven't really, like, been keeping up with it lately, just with everything going on, but a little busy. I really do love their, um, their studies. And then I told you earlier, I'm kind of in my podcast era, yes, uh, really enjoyed, like, putting my headphones on during work and just listening to a podcast. So of course I have to shout out becoming something. Love their podcast.

Taylor McAdams: They really do. Sorry, really quick. They really do cover a wide variety of things. I remember, even like the seasons of not knowing what your career is going to be, not knowing who your partner is, everything, like, yeah,

Shelby Shank: yeah. Love it good. So there's this really good, um, whoa, that's good with Sadie Robertson, heck yes. Love that one. And then, of course, love listening to this podcast and all guests that you have on this is going to be your favorite episode. Yes, yes. I hope it's the most viewed? No, I'm kidding. Yes, yeah, me too. And then another shout out to leaders of the West. Love that one. And just learning from people in the Western agricultural industries,

Taylor McAdams: yeah, that's a wide variety. We got a little self help. We got a little AG, little in between. No, those are so good. I recently, if you're our podcast, girly, I recently discovered the skinny confidential. Okay, have you heard about that? Okay, it's kind of different. It's not really ag based, but I kind of like it, because they kind of shoot you straight on, like, health and beauty, and they they get to interview. It's a husband and wife couple. So they get to interview, like, a very wide variety of, like, some are businessmen that started businesses and women too. So it's, like, very business. Or, like, sometimes it's an influencer that has a beauty product, and you're like, wait, I never knew the science behind the fair, you know, fair makeup or whatever. So yeah, that one's making, I love that, yes. And then I remember your dentist story you like to read. So are you reading anything other than the Lent series? Okay, I

Shelby Shank: love I'm gonna butcher her name, but it's Abby Jimenez, okay, she's wrote just for the summer a part of your world. Yours truly. She's probably one of my current, like, favorite authors right now, and she just came out with a book either this week or last week, called say, you'll remember, and it's about like a veterinarian, and I can't remember what the other character does, but love reading that right now. She's so good. If you love rom coms, like I do

Taylor McAdams: say that's your favorite genre. I love rom coms. Okay. Yeah. I really my coworkers, have they taught me a term, smut, smut books? I was never really into smut, but there was one book that I read, like, probably last summer, like at the pool and stuff. I was like, Okay, I see why people love, like, rom com, or like, anything other than self help. Because, really, I just read self help all the time. But it is fun to escape a little bit. Yes, it is. It is. And speaking of stepping away and like escaping. You travel a lot for work. So tell us about what it's like. Like, give us a like day in the life of a field reporter at Texas Farm Bureau, because that is your job is so intriguing. Yeah, you don't have the same day every day.

Shelby Shank: No, I so, I guess I never really explained, like, what I actually do

Taylor McAdams: as a nurse. What do you do, Shelby?

Shelby Shank: I honestly am so lucky to have a very like niche job, because when you say like field editor, they're like, what's that? And I often, I often get confused with, like, our field representatives, but I'm the editor, but I basically tell it, yeah, yeah. I basically go around the state of Texas and interview farmers and ranchers and just get to share their stories in agriculture, which is so fun. So I'm taking their photos. I tag team with our video team. We do interviews. And so really grateful to have the team that I travel with. Yeah, they do amazing work. Love the videos that they produce. And then I get to write like the article that goes along with it. And then I also get to, like, travel to other places. So at the end of the month, I'm going to DC with some of our members, and they're going to advocate at the capital for agriculture, of course, and so I'll be there following them around. So if you see me following people in cowboy hats, I'm there. You're like, that's me. Yeah, one thing

Taylor McAdams: that I noticed, you actually publish a lot of articles online. And so I can't help but ask, like, how does it feel to be published or to say, like, Oh, I'm a published writer. It's

Shelby Shank: honestly, so surreal. So when I was in grad school, I said that I wanted to, like, publish journal articles, and like, that's when I would be, like, I made it or whatnot. Okay, well, I think it was maybe earlier this year or last year that my thesis actually did get published in a journal article. And I was like, Oh, this is just like another published thing, because at that point, like, I'd been at Farm Bureau for two years, and my pictures have been the cover of Texas agriculture, which is like our monthly publication. Yeah. Yes, and it's like, Oh, I've already done this before, but it's still like a really surreal moment when you see, like, a photo that you've taken on the cover of this paper that is going out to a lot of people. Does

Taylor McAdams: your mom get a copy? That's the most important? No, I

Shelby Shank: don't think she does. I don't think she does well, even though she lives in Ohio, I should make her get a farm Bucha membership in

Taylor McAdams: Texas, you really should, I'm sure she would be, like, stoked every month getting a magazine or whatever is it. But actually not monthly. It's by this

Shelby Shank: one is monthly, and then we have another one called Texas neighbors that is digital, and it goes out every quarter.

Taylor McAdams: Okay, yeah, wow. So you really are constantly with content, yeah, wow. Okay, so one question I've asked, we're interviewing right now for interns and stuff. One thing I've asked them is, like, how do you get over like, writer's block or creative block or whatever? So I'll ask you that then too, since you're you're constantly pumping out the stuff. I wish

Shelby Shank: I had an answer for you. And I don't have one. I don't have one. Um, on a normal week when, like, I'm in the office, I probably do maybe, like, five to six articles a week. Most of them are just, like, really short or like, I'm repackaging one, yeah, not necessarily, like, blog type. I don't really know how you would describe it. This is a weird, random fact too, and I don't know if I should brag about it. Definitely you should. I did not take a single journalism class in school. Fun fact, did not take a single journalism class. So honestly, where I am today, it's all because of God, like, yeah, so I don't know what you really call it's just maybe, like, it's more like a new style, okay, yeah, type, yeah. But they get published in like, our daily newsletter that goes out to emails called Texas ag daily. So yeah, I probably do about like five to six of those a week, and then we try to shoot for like, one big story, like a feature story once a month. Right now, we're kind of like, in this weird lull of waiting for people to respond back to us so that we can, you know, go, go, like, possibly going to El Paso. Another one, I think will be in East Texas, and then I can't remember where some of the other ones are, but we're just in this, like, weird waiting period to get some stories done. Well, okay, if you do get to go to El Paso, if it works out, we have a factory there and, like, stores and stuff. So I don't know if you'll have any free time, but you'll have to, like, stop in. Okay, what it's like, there another branch of us, but I love

Taylor McAdams: that you mentioned, like going, and that was a big part of the answer we talked about before, of like, getting to travel and do all the things. So Juan actually asked you this off camera, not knowing that we were prepared to talk about it. So I was like, Nope, don't answer someone ask you now, now that we're on camera, ever can hear you and hear your story, what has been like the craziest scenario that has come out of being in the field asking the farmers things, was it a crazy location, a crazy story, a crazy person? I feel like that's

Shelby Shank: such a hard question to like, answer, and I was thinking about that on the drive up here, because people always ask, like, what's your favorite story that you've done, and whatnot, yeah, and like, they're all really good stories for like, little bits of themselves, like, whether it's I felt like I got really good content when I was there, or this person interviewed really well, or I just really enjoyed the memories with my coworkers while we were on that shoot. So it's really hard to like, pick which ones are my favorite, but there's a couple that stand out to me, and this one, like, feels weird to say that it's my favorite, but it's when we covered the Panhandle wildfires last year. That one was really cool, just because, I mean, it was a very heartbreaking situation, but it was really cool to be like, Oh, I'm being a part of, like, writing history for people, communicating that to the world, yeah. So that was, like, really cool just to, like, be a part of that, I guess, still very heartbreaking, but a good story. And then another one we did Poteet strawberries. So Poteet is very known for their strawberries. They have, like, a Strawberry Festival every year. And it was around that time when we did that shoot, the Wes Anderson trend. And my co workers are, like, big movie nerds, and so they were like, yes, we need to do that. And I feel like that's maybe one of our, like, most viewed, like reels and tiktoks is the Wes Anderson trend, like with the strawberry farmers. And it's like, it's a really good video. I love it. We got a so American Farm Bureau does, like a communications conference for all the state farmers to come together. And we submitted that video and got, like, best social media video, and so that was really fun. Heck yes, yeah.

Taylor McAdams: Well, I think I've got to go back to the story with the West Texas fires, because I totally see why that was your your favorite, only because the lens that I'm looking at it as like seeing the stories that you wrote and seeing Facebook posts and all the articles that were out there, everyone band together and like people from Oklahoma, I'm sure people from Ohio, everyone came to bring cattle, feed, hay, necessities, water, Gatorade, or donated money to someone that would like get it for them. And so I totally see why that was such an impactful story, even though it was sad. And that kind of, that kind of, is the reason why stories like that. Are kind of the reasons why I didn't want to go in the news reporting direction. Yeah, because I don't actually think I've shared this with our audience either. But like, I wanted to be a news reporter, a news broadcaster, and then in college, they sent me out on a few assignments, and I realized very quickly that I could not go up to a woman who just lost her son and say, how does that make you feel, you know, and so situations like that, I commend you for having the like, right headspace and the right approach, and that is just like, hats off to you. As a reporter, I'm like, Yes girl, I will continue to, like, follow and love and live vicariously through you, because I could not do half the things that you do, yeah, and then write about it too, yeah,

Shelby Shank: thankfully, those aren't like, a lot of our stories. Most of them are just feature stories of positive times, yeah, like we did one on a sunflower farmer. And it's just like, so like, how did you start growing sunflowers? How do they grow? Tell me more about this crop and things like that. And then always the question of, like, Well, why do you keep doing it? And it's so sweet when like, God inserts himself, like, in those moments of you get to see like, other people's faith shine through, Oh,

Taylor McAdams: for sure. And then that makes you even more apt to, like, be the vessel to share too. Yeah, it's like little God winks like, yeah, when you have someone that wants to pray over the podcast before coming in, you know, it's like, one of those things that's like, Yes, I feel fulfilled, or whatever. Yeah, after all of that, I think what's something that's unique about you is you have such a serious job and it's fun. Feature stories are fun, you know, but like, pretty serious as a field reporter. But then on Tiktok specifically, I don't know that if you do this so much on Instagram, I don't know. Shame on me for not knowing. But I love your Tiktok updates of like, my outfit of the day. So tell us about what we can expect if we follow you, and anyone out there that wants to follow you, yeah? What we can expect?

Shelby Shank: Okay, so I guess on Tiktok, I love to film outfit of the days. I love just watching those from other people. I don't do them like constantly, but they're fun to do.

Taylor McAdams: Like you do them the perfect amount, yeah? Like, nobody is like, overwhelmed, and nobody is also like, actually, yeah. People like me probably are like, Yeah, I want to get on every day just to see what you like. So maybe we are asking for more, actually, okay, I'll try. I'll try to be better. Some outfits are like, not worthy to be on Tiktok. Okay, depends on who you ask. Some people think everything is worthy to be.

Shelby Shank: That's true. That's true, even if it shouldn't. So that's true. So I do often of the days on Tiktok. I'm trying to do more, like, Day in the Life videos of a field editor, because, like I said, it's a very niche role, and I just think those are so fun. I love day in the lives. So that's Tiktok Instagram, I don't know, just like, share photos from like, what's happening in life, whether it's like a landscape from our recent shoot, or just hanging out with my friends or, like, with my dog. But so yeah, that's basically what you get when you follow me

Taylor McAdams: all the boots content, yeah, Boots the dog content on actually probably both, but specifically Instagram and with his Instagram, what was his Instagram? Again? 

Shelby Shank: Boots underscore scoot and Boogie.

Taylor McAdams: I should have added that to notes, because I have yours, which, if you guys do want to go follow on Insta or Tiktok, they're both the same. So that is always helpful. That's like a good branding tip. If you guys are out there and you want to know if you have the same handle on all the platforms, it makes everything easier at Shelby Beth underscore four to seven. And I have to ask, what does the four to seven mean? It's my birthday. Okay. I was like, is it an area code in Ohio? I could have figured, No, just my birthday. Okay? Oh my gosh. Well, it's coming. It's coming up, and by the time the podcast is out, I think it might be, depending on how long it might it might be past your birthday. So happy birthday. Thank you. Yeah, very soon. That's awesome. And then if you want to follow along with Shelby's work stuff, if you want to see where her stories are posted, or what her video team is doing. You can follow along at at Texas Farm Bureau, and there's, like, lots of I love watching Shelby's content on Tiktok and stuff. But before we go, I always ask one super serious, not really serious, question on the podcast, and it's, what is your best piece of advice for someone that is in your your industry, but I'm actually going to change it to be like a season or two behind you. So think like someone who's in college or just graduated trying to find a job. What's your best advice?

Shelby Shank: So my best piece of advice for anyone who's like in college not really sure what they want to do, or maybe they do know what they want to do. One, have faith. Two, apply to everything. Don't just expect it to fall into your lap that this opportunity is going to come up. I'm also really grateful that I was able to get my dream job out of school. But don't always, like, have that expectation, but don't be afraid to apply. There are lots of like, really good resources out right now. Like, people are sharing job opportunities all the time on Tiktok and Instagram. Of like, what's available

Taylor McAdams: of the West is always posting job stuff, but always apply to everything. Don't be afraid or, like, think that you're underqualified for it. Just apply, because you never know what connections you're going to make out of it. That's such a good answer. And we were actually just talking about that. I don't know if you remember, like, when we were getting you checked in about, like. Uh, mentally talking yourself out of things, because, like, I realistically was like, Shelby is going to say No, he's too busy this weekend, like, reaching out to her, I feel bad. And then she was like, Yes, I'm honored. And I'm like, okay, see, like, proof that you need to ask, because the worst thing they could say is no, you know, yeah. So Shelby, I'm honored that you said yes and that you want to be on the podcast. You're welcome back anytime. Waco is very close, so we'll have to plan better when you're not as crazy busy and make it worth it. I have to give before we leave, a special shout out to your boss, Julie, if you've made it this far. Thank you so much for letting Shelby take off work to be on the podcast and enjoy fully the weekend of

Shelby Shank: 30 under 30. Say I didn't have to twist her arm. She was excited for me.

Taylor McAdams: I bet it sounds like you have a pretty good boss and job, and I, as your friend and Sister, I'm so happy for you, so excited to see where you end up in the future, too. Thank you, and I'm thankful for social media that has kept us together. Yes, so guys, if you've made it this far, thank you so much for listening to episode number one of the kick your boots up podcast for season three. So episode 66 I think we're on 66 episodes. Wow, if you like what you saw, or even if you didn't feel free to like and subscribe and get notified for posts on YouTube, or if you're like seeing the real on Instagram, do that too. Get notified for whenever we post, leave us a review on Apple. That's something I'm really targeting right now. If you will sent DM Justin boots a screenshot that you gave us a review on Apple, I will send you a message and also enter you into a drawing to win a very cool prize package from the Kick Your Boots Up podcast. And as always, remember that you can save 15% on the Justin Boots website by going to www.justinboots.com and using code k, y, b, u, 15 for 15% off. Thank you so much for listening, and we'll see you the next time you kick your boots up. Thanks for joining us on Kick Your Boots Up. I'm your host, Taylor McAdams, and we can't wait to share the next story of the West. Until then, feel free to like subscribe and leave us a review. Follow us on social media at Justin Boots to keep up with our next episode, and we'll see you the next time you kick your boots up.