Four Legs of a Well-Balanced Chair

Family, friends, faith and community - these are the forces that have helped to shape Alexis Hetzer into who she is today. As a senior at Newton Community High School, it’s a busy time for Hetzer. Trying to balance the demands of completing her last semester of school work before graduation and finalizing her scholarship applications, while also being active in sports, has pushed her into a creative approach to time management. “It’s a very busy time, and you’ve got to learn to [...] find time for everything,” Hetzer said. After high school, Hetzer plans to attend Lake Land College, with a focus on the pre-veterinary program offered there, before transferring to either the University of Illinois or Purdue to finish out her veterinary medicine degree.

Four Legs of a Well-Balanced Chair

Alexis Hetzer

By Erica Loos

Becoming a veterinarian has been a long-time interest of Hetzer. “I’ve always loved animals since I was a really little kid. And as long as I can remember [...] it’s always just been what I wanted to do,” she said. Her grandfather owns a hobby farm where she spent time growing up helping with the sheep, chickens and rabbits, which furthered her love of animals. “Most people treat their animals as their children so, obviously, I want to give as good care as what you’d want for your kids, for your animals. [...] I know good veterinary care means a lot to people,” she said. Hetzer knows the needs of good veterinary care firsthand, having three dogs of her own. She runs her own breeding business, called Hetzer’s Goldendoodles, with her two female Golden Retrievers and one male Standard Poodle, producing roughly two litters of Goldendoodle puppies per year; one litter from each female.

Another great love for Hetzer is sports. Seemingly a natural leader, she is captain of the girls cross country, basketball and track teams. Misfortune struck in December 2022, however, when, during a basketball game, Hetzer tore several ligaments in her knee resulting in a dislocation of the joint. This injury will prevent her from competing for the remainder of her senior year. “It’s been really rough. My senior year, I’m going to miss the rest of my basketball season, and track was my primary sport. I was even thinking about competing in track in college,” Hetzer said. It’s been difficult to know that she won’t be able to participate on the field anymore, but she keeps her spirits high with a positive outlook. “I just tried to tell myself ‘It could have been worse’,” she said, thankful the injury didn’t hinder her ability to walk. Receiving the support of her teammates has been a tremendous help, as well, knowing she’s still part of the team regardless of her inability to compete. As team captain, Hetzer still attends games to show her support and be a leader.

Preparing to graduate high school and move on to the next phases of life is a time when it’s easy to become overwhelmed and stressed, and Hetzer is not immune to that. Along with her positive outlook, she has a close group of friends who help to keep her calm and grounded. Maintaining strong, supportive and healthy relationships is important for everyone, and Hetzer seems to have that in spades. Since her knee injury, she has been able to find help and support from one of these close friends who has also gone through a sports injury as well, and they’ve been there for each other through those ups and downs. If her friends were asked to describe her, she said, they would probably say that she is a positive person, but they would also, “joke around about how I’m super clumsy and really scatterbrained,” she said, laughing that they wouldn’t want to give her a big head.

Hetzer says she gained a better understanding and appreciation for her community when she participated in the Jasper County CEO Program. The program is designed to “prepare people, especially youth, to be responsible, enterprising individuals who become entrepreneurs or entrepreneurial thinkers and contribute to economic development and sustainable communities,” according to their website. During her time in the program, Hetzer said she had many positive experiences and interactions with members of local businesses that helped her to realize exactly how much her community values each other. “I saw how much is really invested into this community, and invested in the youth,” she said. This revelation gave her a ‘wow’ moment, helping her to understand the importance of giving back to her community, which has inspired her with the idea to return to her hometown once she finishes college and give back in her own way - as a veterinarian.

Family has always been an influence in Hetzer’s life, and her father’s involvement with the National FFA Organization inspired her to follow in his footsteps. Already having a love of animals and an appreciation for agriculture has helped her get closer to her goals of earning her state degree in FFA. Hetzer recalls seeing a poster of the State of Illinois in a classroom that lists the names of everyone from the school who has earned their state degree, saying that her father’s name is on that list. “And I just think it would be cool to have my name up there as well,” she said. Alexis Hetzer has had many strong threads to choose from as she has been weaving the fabric of her future and, for her, the strongest among them have been her faith, family, friends, and community. We can’t wait to see the tapestry of her life unfurl.