Samantha M. Howe grew up as the fourth generation of commercial Black Angus beef cattle ranch in south-central Oklahoma. She graduated summa cum laude with her honors college degree and Bachelor of Science in Animal Science with an emphasis in Animal Biotechnology and a minor in microbiology from Oklahoma State University in 2019. She began pursuing her Ph.D. in Animal Science at the University of Arkansas in 2019 under the supervision of Dr. Jiangchao Zhao. Her research focuses on developing potential probiotics to treat or prevent Bovine Respiratory Disease. While at the University of Arkansas, she has received the Doctoral Academy Fellowship, served as President and Vice-President of the Animal Science Graduate Student Association, and was recently named the Department of Animal Science’s Outstanding Ph.D. student.