Wildcat transitions from rodeo to golf course

   KGF Junior Scholars: Melissa Kupfersmith 

Rodeo, gymnastics and golf.

Not necessarily the sports triumvirate most youngsters pursue -- unless you live in a state like Kansas where people have a wide variety of backgrounds, experiences and family traditions. That’s definitely the case for Valley Center’s Melissa Kupfersmith.

The Kansas Golf Foundation Scholar had a chance to pursue those interests growing up in the south central section of the Sunflower State and now she’s pursuing becoming an orthodontist, completing her undergraduate work at Kansas State University in Manhattan.

“We live on a farm and my entire family rodeos,” said Kupfersmith, 19. “I won state two years in goat tying…(the) state finals took place in Hutchinson, Kan., and then I also qualified for nationals two years in rodeo. I like how it’s a family thing. My entire family did it together and on the weekends we would go all together to the rodeos. It’s just so competitive and I love competition.”

Free time turns to golf time

With that admitted competitive side, Kupfersmith says golf gave her another avenue to test herself. Her mother introduced her to the sport and they began playing at Park City’s Echo Hills just before Melissa entered high school. She says she was involved in gymnastics from age 5 to 14, but when she was done with the gymnastics she had too much free time and her mother thought golf might be the ticket.

“My mother encouraged me to start taking lessons the summer before my freshman year,” Kupfersmith says. “And I played all through high school. I just loved it as soon as I started playing. She played when she was younger and we would go together. It was a good bonding thing for us.”

For Valley Center High’s golf team, Kupfersmith would go on to play in the state high school tournament at Salina Municipal her junior year and at Cottonwood Hills near Hutchinson her senior season. As a senior, she finished second at her league championship played at Echo Hills.

“The first year I played for fun,” Kupfersmith admits. “Then I got more serious my sophomore, junior and senior years.”

Her involvement in the sport at VCHS included helping younger players with their game.

“…as captain of my high school golf team the past two years, I have taught younger players the game of golf and increased my potential as a leader,” she wrote in a letter to The Foundation as a senior. “Needless to say, golf has had a very positive influence on the transformation of my values and character as I have matured through high school.”

That included developing integrity and composure while playing golf, she adds.

“No one is there -- you have to keep your own score,” she says. “If you have a bad shot you don’t want to show your emotions completely. If you have a bad shot and you act like your upset that’s only going to make your game worse.”

Passion for Kansas State

Kupfersmith, involved in National Honor Society, youth group, and Communities and Schools while in high school, says she was thinking of attending some private colleges after graduating, but one trip to Manhattan convinced her KSU was the place to be.

“One of my friends, her entire family had gone to K-State,” Kupfersmith says. “I wanted to go to a private college but they talked me into looking at K-State. When I went there I couldn’t look at anyplace else. I just love it here.”

Another common childhood experience helped set her on a career path.

“Life Sciences Pre-Dentistry with minors in business and philosophy,” the sophomore says of her educational direction at KSU. “I want to be an orthodontist. I have three years left then I’m hoping to go to UMKC for dental school then stay there for the orthodontic program. I had braces growing up for about three years. I just loved what the orthodontist did…I loved that line of work. I’ll probably stay in the city, but I’ll keep an open mind about that.”

Kupfersmith is a member of Gamma Phi Beta sorority at Kansas State. She says she’s also involved with Boys and Girls Club, the Pre-Dental Club and is an ambassador for KSU’s College of Arts and Sciences and the school’s Healthy Decisions program.

Kupfersmith says she appreciates the financial support from her KGF scholarship as her second year at K-State begins.

“It means a lot having those people support me,” she says. “It feels really good knowing my hard work has been rewarded and they have supported me to get an education and succeed in life.”