I've never lived in Morgan County, but my favorite cow does.

Three years ago, I received what is still to this day the most important letter of my life. After more than a month of impatient waiting, I pulled an envelope from the Owen Community Foundation. "Miss Goddard, the Lilly Endowment is pleased to announce you have been named a Lilly Scholar for Owen County," it read. Free tuition. Freedom to go to a $25,000-a-year college at practically no cost to my family. Like I said, it was a pretty amazing letter.

My parents, as most generally tend to do, told anyone and everyone within earshot about my accomplishment. My dad, a teacher for Spencer-Owen Schools, did his best to inform Owen County. My mom, who has been the librarian at Mooresville High School for 10 years, was on spring break but headed straight to the family computer to let some of her coworkers and friends in on the news. Everyone there had been pulling for me, she said.

Don Adams, who is now retired from teaching, though I know he makes regular visits to see the ladies in the MHS library, got one of her e-mails gushing about my scholarship. That evening, he delivered a calf on his property. Knowing what a special day it had been for me and my family, he named the calf Sarah. This was a sincere compliment, though I'm sure it could be construed by some as an insult.

I don't remember much about my graduation. I spent the hour before the ceremony huddled in the Owen Valley High School choir room, taking shelter from the tornadoes that touched down just a few hundred feet behind the school. I was practically in tears worrying about my extended family, who were all out on the southern Indiana highways in such horrible weather just so they could see me walk across a stage in a funny hat. But they all made it safely and I survived the ceremony, emotions intact.

Mr. Adams brought his wife and adorable grandson to my graduation open house, just a few hours later. He laid a card on the gift table but made sure he gave my other gift, a framed portrait of Sarah the cow.

She lives on my desk at Huntington University, where I will start my senior year this fall. The photo is a great conversation starter. People always assume that I'm a farm girl, which I'm not. Then I get to tell them my well-worn anecdote about Sarah the cow.

But that picture has come to mean more to me than a funny story or graduation gift. It's a testament to how many people truly care about my life. Sarah the cow is there to remind me of this, every time I'm overwhelmed with the time and commitment college life entails. She's sits on my desk because I'm not just in it for me. I have friends and family, and even an entire community pulling for me to succeed. You may not have a Sarah the cow, but we all have people invested in our lives.

I'm excited to be interning at the Reporter-Times this summer. It is great to finally be part of a community that I have such strong ties to. You really will never forget the home of your favorite cow. It's a special place.

Goddard is an editorial intern for the summer at the Reporter-Times. She can be reached at sgoddard@reportert.com or by calling (765) 342-3311, Ext. 213.