The 102nd Little International is set for March 28 and 29 with a record number of animals to be shown, along with over 2,000 high school students coming to campus to compete.

   “Little International is a combination of staff and showman,” Teigen Hadrick, Little International manager, said. “It takes about 160 students on staff, whether taking pictures of animals in the ring, transporting animals to and from the arena, or helping run a CDE [Career Development Events] contest.

   Exhibitors got paired with their animals on Jan. 29 and have been working to train those animals for the Little International livestock show, one of SDSU’s biggest traditions.

   There are 165 animals total being shown, with sheep, goats, pigs, dairy, horses and beef.  Exhibitors spend hours training their animals to lead and walk, along with washing and clipping them before the show. All of the animals are kept at their respective units on campus except the goat and pigs, which are kept in the Animal Science Arena.

   “People from all different majors come together to share a common passion working toward a similar goal,” Hadrick said.

   Little International takes a lot of hours, whether it is for the exhibitors working with their animals, or the staff planning the small details.

   “In the coming weeks, I am really just all over the place, filling in wherever I am needed. I am either helping out at the arena or the different units,” Makenna Skiff, the 102nd Little International Livestock Coordinator said.

   Little International has a big impact on campus with over 2,000 high school students coming to campus competing in CDE. The high school students are offered tours throughout campus to try and recruit students to come to SDSU and be a part of Little International someday as a Jackrabbit.

   Little International is based on the Chicago International with the red barn and the green chips. SDSU wants to use that history and make it special for the staff and the exhibitors.

   The Little International logo will be placed into the middle of the show ring with yellow wood chips throughout the two days of the event.

   The green chips and red barn bring back many memories for the alumni and faculty that come and watch Little “I”.

   “When I was a student here at SDSU I was involved with Little I, but not to the extent of some of the students that I work with now,” Little International adviser, Tommy Norman said. “It is just awesome to see their level of care and motivation to make it successful.”