Sheila Beckstead grew up in Maeser and still lives on a portion of the ground that her great-great-grandparents homesteaded. She graduated from Uintah High School as the Salutatorian in 1988 and then from Utah State University, Department of Ag Science as Valedictorian in 1992. Her veterinary degree was obtained at Colorado State University in 1996 where she tied for second (and so thankfully did not have to speak at the graduation exercises). Wanting to return to the small town lifestyle that she loves, she declined to do an additional residency in a big city. She first went to Logan, Utah to practice and after a few years made her way back to Countryside Veterinary Clinic in Vernal. She has an avid interest in small animal internal medicine, dentistry and soft tissue surgery. She is a member of the American Veterinary Medical Association. She is licensed to practice in Utah as well as Colorado. In her spare time she loves to hike with her adopted rescue dog, Finn, or horseback ride in the beautiful High Uinta Mountains. “No day spent in the mountains can ever be bad.” [citation]