Our first season of Endurance Equine is about to kick off! As this is a brand new horsemanship program, I have asked two active duty military personnel to be the "guinea pigs" and go through the program with me to help iron out the kinks. Therefore, I am excited to welcome Sierra and Angelica on board! They have both completed the MSU Veterans Horsemanship program and continue to volunteer with that program as time allows. This will be their first time doing endurance, and I know they will have a lot of insight and suggestions for how to improve the program for our future veteran participants. Thank you so much, ladies, for helping to make this service a success!
Sierra Nicholson
My name is Sierra Nicholson, and I am a Staff Sergeant in the Airforce National Guard. As an Electrical and Environmental Technician, I work on military aircraft and have had the opportunity to travel to incredible places such as Guam, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and Alaska.
Participating in the Veterans Horsemanship program has been incredible during my college years. It provided a much-needed change in pace and something to look forward to during the challenges of academic life. Now, I am eagerly anticipating the Endurance program, excited for the unforgettable experiences it promises to bring.
Angelica Colbert
My name is Angelica Colbert, and I was born November 25th, 1995 in Lithia Springs, Georgia. Although I am a Georgia native, I have been in Mississippi for quite some time. I attended high school in West Point, Ms where I graduated in 2014. During my career in school, I played Soccer, Golf, and was a part of Headquarters in JROTC.
Just before the conclusion of my time in high school, I enlisted in the Mississippi Army National Guard as a Horizontal Construction Engineer. Serving in the National Guard has been one of my biggest accomplishments thus far in life and is also considered one of my favorite past times. They say you will never a day in your life when you do what you love and being a soldier is the epitome of that. As of now I am a platoon Sergeant in the 289th Engineering Company in Bruce, Ms and have been involved with various missions such as battalion response to Covid-19 and Hurricane Ida to name a few.
In addition to my tenure as a service member in the Guard, I’ve been a sworn officer at the Starkville Police Department since 2017. Since being an officer, I have worked as a Detective in Investigations and a Corporal in the Community Oriented Policing Division. Currently I am a Corporal on patrol where I take much pride in the shift that I serve with. In 2022 I was introduced to the horse therapy program where I was paired with a beautiful Mustang named Eddie whose personality was as big as he is. Spending time and training with Eddie became a calming escape for me from the stressful encounters I face at work.