Travis O'Quinn
Department of Animal Science / Academic Quiz Bowl TeamTRAVIS O'QUINN, A MEMBER of this summer's national championship Texas Tech University academic quiz bowl team, didn't come close to guessing where he wanted to go to college. Even as a junior agriculture student standout at Clear Creek High School, he knew his academic path would take him to Texas Tech and the High Plains.
"I knew early on that Tech was the place for me," he said.
The senior animal science major didn't exactly grow up on a farm. Raised in League City, 30 miles south of Houston, his 5A high school was sprawling. "We weren't a strong agricultural community, but I was still very active in FFA and 4-H. My brother Brandon and I raised animals, and in the sixth grade I entered my first county livestock judging contest."
Good Friend. One of O'Quinn's early mentors was his high school agricultural instructor, Tim Tatsch, who was a member of Texas Tech's 1996 national champion meat judging team. "He was a good friend and introduced me to members of the Tech team when we would go to contests around the state. The people from Tech always seemed to go out of their way to talk to you and remember who you were. That always meant a lot to me."
O'Quinn graduated from Clear Creek in 2004 and shortly thereafter headed north to Lubbock. During his freshman year he was on the Department of Animal Science's wool judging team, and in his sophomore year he joined its meat judging team. In 2006, he and his team members were the reserve national champion meat judging team. At the time, he was also named a first team All American.
"We had a very good year," O'Quinn said. "There is just so much to learn from being on a judging team. It teaches you to think on your feet. There's no being wishy-washy. You have to be able to defend your opinions."
Real World. Another benefit from being a member of a judging team is in the classroom and after graduation, O'Quinn said. "The information that you learn in class has a direct bearing on your career," he said. "If you want to go into meat science or livestock procurement, this gives you practical application tools to use in the real world."
This summer O'Quinn, along with Landi Woolly, Matt Sellers, Meagan Mitchell, Travis Chapin and Austin Voyles, won the 2007 national championship at the 60th annual Reciprocal Meats Conference, marking the third time in the bowl's six-year history that Red Raiders have earned the title. This year's competition, held at South Dakota State University, featured more than 20 university teams from across the nation.
"These students have dedicated themselves to being the best," said Mark Miller, San Antonio Livestock Show Distinguished Chair in Meat Science and team coach and advisor, explaining why Texas Tech has had such a run of success.
Graduate School. This fall, since O'Quinn isn't eligible for another year on meat judging team, he said his focus will be on research projects in Texas Tech's meat science laboratory. He plans to go to graduate school after graduating next May.
Asked about his decision to come to Texas Tech back when he was a junior in League City, O'Quinn didn't hesitate. "That's a very easy answer; you're just not a number here," he said with a grin. "The professors here want to know you. I've never had a class in the ag college where the professor didn't know who I was."
-Norman Martin
Davis College NewsCenter
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