from a closed door. Her drive to push forward until a new path opens is at the center of everything she has accomplished.

The Narcoossee, Florida, native is a Mississippi State poultry science master’s student, an American Future Farmers of America Degree recipient, mixed martial arts black belt, dairy goat farmer and former Belle mascot. Her path is anything but linear.

Grant’s passion for agriculture began at 15, when she jumped into FFA headfirst, despite not growing up around agriculture.

“If one door opens, you bet I’m walking right through it,” she said.

However, the pandemic brought everything to a halt in 2020, and Grant had to find new ways to invest in her passion. So, when a rancher she worked with at a county fair handed her a $500 check and told her to go do good things, she made a plan.

“With that $500, I invested in a dairy goat farm of my own,” she said.

Grant wanted to help young people find their way into the industry, so she partnered with schools in Florida, offering students interested in agriculture an opportunity to get started. She then obtained her American FFA Degree, a recognition less than 1% of FFA members earn.

Her next leap of faith came in applying to MSU. She had never been to Mississippi, but a veterinary school showcase introduced her to the university, and she decided to attend as a pre-veterinary student.

Once she arrived, Grant found a new direction, graduating in 2025 with a B.S. in animal and dairy sciences before continuing her education in MSU’s poultry science master’s program. She now researches bacterial reduction in feed within a department that is one of only six degree-granting poultry science programs in the country.

Also, earlier during her undergraduate pursuits, an unexpected door opened during a meeting with MSU’s Bulldog mascot coordinator in the university’s Department of Athletics. After jokingly offering to wear stilts if it meant she could suit up as Bully, Grant was instead offered the role of reviving Belle, becoming the first person to bring the mascot back to life since it was retired in 2004.

Her favorite memory came during the 2023 ReliaQuest Bowl following the passing of former football head coach Mike Leach, when she had the idea to dress the mascots up as pirates in memory of him, and how surreal it felt to be surrounded by the stadium’s pirate iconography while watching the team come back in the final quarter to secure the win.

“I was 10 feet from where the game-winning kick happened, and of course I acted like an absolute fool on national television,” she said.

Whether on the sidelines, in the research lab or on the mat, Grant relies on the foundation of discipline. Introduced to Kenpo, an ancient martial art rooted in self-defense, by her father at a young age, she holds a black belt in MMA and approaches life’s obstacles with the same mindset.

“Life is going to throw punches at you, and you just have to get up and start throwing punches back. Keep moving and eventually life will reward you with another open door,” she said