Willam and Landrey Black admit they don’t exactly have a traditional boy-meets-girl story. How they became a couple is something more unique and woven together by an Ozarks Tech thread.
William comes from a farm family in Crane, Missouri, but it was when a mobile veterinarian diagnosed his pet horse with foundering – a painful inflammation of the hoof – that he set sights on being a veterinarian. Ozarks Tech eventually became part of his plan to make that happen.
A former Carthage, Missouri student who took ag classes at her school, Landrey was disappointed to find her new high school didn’t offer similar classes when she moved to Springfield. Thinking her future goal was also to be a veterinarian, Landrey dual enrolled in animal science at the college.
That’s where the couple’s paths first crossed in the fall of 2022.
William and Landrey had several agriculture classes together. Both driven and extremely interested in the program, they began showing up to class early, staying late and participating in as many activities as they could. It was when they were paired up for a group project that things started to take a turn, but it was campus activities that finally helped the couple move past being just fellow study partners.
But here’s where the story gets colorful. Each year in October, the Ozarks Fall Farmfest – the largest farm show in the Midwest – is held at the Ozarks Empire Fairgrounds. William decided to ask Landrey to go with him … and he asked during class while they were palpating a cow to check for pregnancy (for all the non-agriculture people, you can Google palpating).
“It worked. She gave me her number,” William recalls with a laugh.
This led to a host of additional dates, including movies at the Aurora drive-in, trips to corn mazes, deer hunting on William’s family farm and, of course, fall events on campus. After that, the couple collectively explains they were “two peas in a pod” for the entire next spring semester.
It was during a trip to Silver Dollar City on Landrey’s birthday in July 2023 the couple made it official and got engaged. They married May 20, 2024.
Fellow classmates supported the couple with help planning the wedding and with gifts. They describe their small, private wedding – that included a vanilla wedding cake baked by Landrey – as perfect.
William received his associate degree in animal science in the spring of 2024 and is now at Missouri State University. He eventually plans to complete his veterinary education at Mizzou. After discovering the many agriculture options at Ozarks Tech, Landrey has decided she wants to bestow that knowledge on others as an agriculture teacher. She currently works part-time at the Richwood Valley Campus and is set to graduate this fall with an associate degree in general agriculture.
The takeaway?
“Be active at Ozarks Tech, stay involved on campus and you will find your people, your career path and maybe even a relationship,” Landrey said.
