Our 2026 Scholarship Recipient

Morgan Hancock, a 17-year-old senior at King City High School, is the 2026 Salinas Valley Fair

Heritage Foundation Animal Scholarship winner. She is a member of Lockwood 4-H and is raising a pig named “Kilmer” for this year’s Heritage Animal.

Morgan said she is super excited and thankful to receive the scholarship. She likes that it gives her the chance to put herself out there more, meet new people at the fair, and represent the Heritage Foundation. To her, it is a really cool way to connect with her community and take on more of a leadership role.

After high school, Morgan plans to go to Cuesta College and study Kinesiology with a focus on Sports Medicine. Later, she wants to transfer to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and keep working toward becoming an athletic trainer, hopefully working with athletes, especially in a rodeo setting, and helping them stay healthy and recover from injuries.

4-H has been a huge part of Morgan’s life. She joined when she was five, following her parents’ and older sisters’ footsteps, and later got her younger brother into it too. Since then, she’s been involved in all kinds of projects like swine, sheep, goats, leadership, arts & crafts, archery, and so many more. It has helped her grow a lot, become more confident, and figure out who she is.

Winning this scholarship means a lot to Morgan, especially because she comes from a smaller club. She is proud to represent Lockwood 4-H and hopes to bring more attention to it. The last time someone from her club won this scholarship was back in 2004, which makes this even more special.

She’s really looking forward to this year’s fair and getting to show her pig putting in so much time and effort. After 12 years of showing, she says it’s played a big role in making her who she is today.

Morgan is also extremely thankful for her family in this experience along with the support of the Heritage Foundation and everything they do to help exhibitors at the Salinas Valley Fair.