Southwestern Valedictorian ready for challenges at Purdue that will help him build career back in Shelby County

Seeking an agricultural degree and bolstered by a large family with ties to West Lafayette, Southwestern High School Class of 2024 Valedictorian Carter Snepp made the easy choice to attend Purdue University in the fall.

“I am going to Purdue for first-year engineering to go into Agriculture Engineering,” said Snepp. “I have a lot of family that went to Purdue. On my mom’s side, there are like 20 alumni on that side. And Purdue is one of the best engineering schools in the state.”

Snepp’s goal is to engineer better crops and return to his home county to make a career.

Snepp is not going alone to Purdue. He will room with Shelbyville High School Salutatorian Jacob Harker and be surrounded by several friends matriculating to Purdue for its strong Agriculture program.

“(Jacob) and I have known each other since we were five years old,” said Snepp.

The adjustment to life at Purdue will be a challenge for Snepp, who thrived in the small school environment at Southwestern.

“It’s very small here,” he said. “Everyone knows everyone so if you do something bad, everyone knows it within about three minutes. It’s nice also because you always have someone you can rely on. There are people that care about you.”

At Southwestern, Snepp was involved in basketball, tennis and track and field athletically and was part of peer mentoring, Future Farmers of America, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, 4-H and National Honor Society.

“My parents won’t be there, obviously,” said Snepp of other challenges he is ready for in West Lafayette. “I still want to put myself into situations where I can grow and prosper, still finding communities for me that are small enough that I can be myself and learn about other people. I know campus will be hard to ground myself.”

As valedictorian, Snepp was expected to prepare a speech for the graduating class. Despite rehearsing his speech over and over, there were still nerves when it was time to address the crowd.

“My mom made me practice a lot in front of her,” said Snepp. “At first it was hard to write because they tell you to write about the future. I’m like how am I supposed to know what the future is like?

“It was really nerve-wracking before to begin with. I was nervous. I got up there and I talk fast naturally and I have a low voice so it can be hard to understand what I am saying, so I told myself to slow down and just talk.”

Despite all the self-assurances, the public speaking part of the speech was challenging despite his athletic background.

“In basketball, you zone out everybody and you don’t really listen,” he explained. “With (the speech), you take in everybody and it’s different.”

Snepp expects to have a full summer working on the family farm and assisting with his mom’s flower shop in Franklin.

And dealing with the extreme change in his typical summer routine.

“It’s definitely weird. I still wake up at 8 a.m. every morning and realize I don’t have basketball in the morning,” he said. “So I walk around and figure out something to do. It’s just weird.”

Snepp and Harker will be moving into a dormitory room at Purdue in mid-August.

“I will miss the small environment and knowing everybody,” said Snepp. “They way Jacob talks about Shelbyville, like I don’t know that person. How do you not know that person at your school?

“That will be the weird part adjusting to that, not knowing everybody and not having a square for a school.”