Graduate student and Ellensburg Rodeo Queen featured in Yakima newspaper

CWU graduate student and employee Alexis Andrews was featured in the Yakima Herald-Republic this week, highlighting her role as the 2023 Ellensburg Rodeo Queen.

The centennial edition of the popular Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) event is coming up this weekend, set for Friday through Monday at the Ellensburg Rodeo Grounds.

As the rodeo queen, Andrews is part of a team of staff and volunteers who prepare, promote, and make the event happen. Her favorite rodeo event is team roping, and she competes with her 4-year-old American Quarter Horse named Thunder.

"His real name is Thunder, but he is known on the circuit as Chicken," she said in the article, "because if I call him Thunder at a rodeo it tends to rain. So, he is now called Chicken."

As noted in the article, Andrews stays plenty busy between rodeo queen duties, her job as a secretary senior for the Douglas Honors College, and her public health master's degree coursework. The Ellensburg native also earned her bachelor's degree in molecular biology from Central in 2022.

She takes all of her responsibilities seriously, but right now, her most important duty is serving as the Ellensburg Rodeo Queen.

"I get to represent the Ellensburg Rodeo and the great Kittitas Valley in going around to different rodeos, functions and events," she said. "I've done things such as our Chamber Gala, I've gone to parades, I've participated in rodeos."

Andrews also talked about the community service projects she's been involved in with Elementary Ag Days-"pretty much anything to help get our name out there and be an integral part of the community."

A CWU News article earlier this year explained that Andrews was crowned 2023 Rodeo Queen because of her continued involvement with local programs such as 4-H, Future Farmers of America, the Kittitas County Cattlemen's Association, and the Washington Cattlemen's Association. She also has served as a Washington State Beef Ambassador and has received the Young Cattlemen of the Year award.

The connections between the university and the Ellensburg community have come into focus for Andrews, who sees both sides of the coin through her job and her lifelong involvement in the annual Labor Day weekend event.

"Central is really working to be more connected with our community events," she said. "They're one of our sponsors for the rodeo, for instance, and I think that's really cool to see because CWU is such a pinnacle point of our community and employs so many of our residents. It's nice that that connection is being built up, and really starting to bridge out into the community."