News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Courteney Satko. photo provided
Courteney Satko's natural environment is the pool, the track, the volleyball court. But now the Boise State junior and 2010 Sisters High School Athlete of the Year is focusing her competitive spirit in a new arena: the Miss Oregon USA pageant stage.
Satko was selected as Miss Deschutes County, qualifying her to participate in the pageant in Portland in November. This turn in her road has Satko herself a little bemused.
"I've never been in a pageant before," she said. "I'm this kind of rugged I-love-dirt kind of girl."
Her motivation for pursuing the title is all about her education. There's a scholarship available for a chiropractic program she's interested in.
Satko is at a crossroads in her schooling. She's on the cusp of deciding between pursuing physical therapy and chiropractic medicine. If she goes the chiropractic route, she's considering becoming an equine chiropractor.
Working with horses is a natural fit for Satko. In addition to her other athletic pursuits, she's an avid rider and has three horses. She leads trail rides for Eagle Crest Resort and has worked at Sisters' Long Hollow Ranch.
She was initially exposed to English-style equitation when she was a little girl in Chicago.
"When I moved here, I fell in love with horses," she said.
She notes that equine chiropractic medicine is a booming field, with owners willing to pay top dollar to ensure health and performance in their horses.
Satko's athletic endeavors are recreational now. She dislocated her patella during an 800-meter race while part of the Boise State track squad. At the time she was running 50 miles a week and doctors told her she could not take that level of punishment anymore.
"They told me if I continued running at this level, I'd need a knee replacement by the time I'm 30," she said.
She continues to ride and she plays on a club volleyball team at Boise State, but now, she says, "I'm going to focus on school."
She's currently looking for job-shadowing opportunities to help her determine her direction. And she's looking for local sponsorships to cover the expenses of competing for Miss Oregon USA.
She's learning the ins-and-outs of being a pageant contestant, from "learning to stand right" to finding a way to generate a genuine smile on cue.
"You just have to think of something really funny," she said.
Courteney will be out in the community introducing herself to potential sponsors in the coming weeks. For information on how to support her quest for the crown, contact her at 541-550-0514, 541-549-8522 or by email at [email protected]
Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.
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