Ms. Sidney Dunkel, an instructor of animal science, started teaching at West Texas A&M University in the fall of 2023. Dunkel obtained her bachelor of science from Texas Tech University in 2021 and her master of science from the University of Arkansas in 2023.

Dunkel’s interest in agriculture stems from her ranching background.

“I’m actually a 6th generation rancher, my family has a ranch back near Archer City, Texas,” Dunkel said. “We raised a lot of cows, and then we also have a few horses that we use on the ranch as well, and so that really brought me into ag. After highschool, I really liked veterinary medicine, so I started that route; decided that wasn’t actually for me–but then decided that teaching was a better suit for me.”

Dunkel’s motivation for teaching originates from her teaching experiences as a college student.

“When I decided I didn’t want to be a vet anymore, I was a little bit lost,” Dunkel said. “But I had a lot of opportunities to help tutor people and help other people understand the same coursework I was in, as well as help coach through some horse show things–and I always got a lot of enjoyment out of that.”

Outside of teaching, Dunkel is a big fan of all things related to horses and remains active as a coach for horse training and in horse associations.

“I grew up getting to show horses a lot,” Dunkel said. “I currently get to help Dr. Baker coach the ranch horse team. And then outside of that, I’ve got my own horses that are back at home. I also stay pretty involved with other horse associations; I’m on the ranching committee with AQHA, and I also help serve on the horse show committee at the Tri-State Fair.”

Apart from horses, Dunkel’s other hobby involves hunting.

“My family on the ranch at home; we have a lot of deer, so I like to go deer hunting,” Dunkel said. “More recently, I got into hog hunting. You do it at night, and it’s really fun because we have a lot of the night vision scopes and that kind of deal, and so it makes it a lot of fun with those with the hogs.”