Ensuring a Brighter Future

While many of us begin in blue corduroy jackets, some go on to earn white coats, and that is due in part to organizations like BlueCross BlueShield of Oklahoma. From scholarships to job experience, Blue- Cross BlueShield provides numerous opportunities for youth across the state. The impact is undeniable, as they work hard for the future of Oklahoma’s students and rural medicine. It goes without saying that BlueCross BlueShield of Oklahoma is nothing shy of deserving when it comes to the Sirloin Club Presidents’ Award.

Beginning in 2014, BlueCross BlueShield of Oklahoma partnered with the Oklahoma Youth Expo to support agricultural youth and encourage students to pursue a career in the field of medicine. To this day, their commitment remains strong and the vision is the same. BlueCross BlueShield of Oklahoma is devoted to ensuring a brighter and healthier tomorrow, and it is evident through their generous support of Oklahoma’s agricultural youth.

“At the Oklahoma Youth Expo, we strive to provide opportunities for 4-H and FFA exhibitors to develop leadership and life skills that help them through every walk of life,” said President of the Onward Foundation, Tyler Norvell. “We are grateful to BlueCross BlueShield of Oklahoma for their continued partnership and for valuing our ag youth and investing in their futures.”

Eight years later, several success stories have bloomed from the Oklahoma Youth Expo’s partnership with BlueCross BlueShield of Oklahoma, including Katie Taylor. A graduate of the University of Oklahoma’s Physical Therapy degree program, Taylor was one of the first recipients of the BlueCross BlueShield of Oklahoma scholarship presented during the Oklahoma Youth Expo.

“It meant the world to me, I was just ecstatic,” Taylor said of being chosen as a scholarship recipient. “No one in my family works in the medical field, and for [BlueCross BlueShield of Oklahoma] to pick me out and say, ‘we believe in you,’ it really meant a lot.”

It is stories like these that keep BlueCross BlueShield of Oklahoma turning dreams into reality and inspiring action. An equal fan of the Oklahoma Youth Expo’s BlueCross BlueShield of Oklahoma scholarship program is Dr. Joseph Cunninghan, President of BlueCross BlueShield of Oklahoma.

“I love the work ethic from the OYE students,” Dr. Cunningham said. “They have to learn how to manage time, manage work, themselves, their livestock to go to shows, they’re also trying to manage their school work and their social life. That combined with an extremely strong work ethic is what I think is really the backbone of the state.”

As we continue to press onward, we are grateful for their continued support not just as an Oklahoma Youth Expo sponsor, but as a believer in Oklahomans, agricultural youth, and rural communities’ healthcare. The Oklahoma Youth Expo and the Sirloin Club of Oklahoma are proud to present them with the 2022 Sirloin Club Presidents’ Award.