Savanna Chandler once thought graduating from Van Alstyne High School would mark the beginning of a life somewhere else.

“I said I would never come back home because you want to spread your wings and fly,” she recalled. “But my wings brought me back exactly where I was supposed to be.”

A fourth-generation Van Alstyne native, Chandler attended VAISD from kindergarten through 12th grade. After graduation, she studied agricultural communications and agricultural leadership at Oklahoma State University before returning home to begin her career with Grayson Collin Electric Cooperative.

She now serves as Assistant Manager of Inside Operations, a role that allows her to work with community members and support youth programs, scholarships and local events.

Chandler traces much of her confidence and ability to communicate with others back to her time in Van Alstyne FFA. As a student, she showed livestock and participated in public speaking and judging competitions.

“I attribute a lot of being confident in a room to my time spent doing public speaking, being in that ag shop and being around people who wanted to see each other succeed,” she said.

The lessons she carried forward, however, extended beyond academics and extracurricular activities. She remembers seeing the school district and community rally around families facing difficult circumstances.

“Van Alstyne taught me how to be a better person, how to lend a hand and how to show up for people,” she said.

Today, Chandler continues to give back through her involvement with the Van Alstyne Senior Center, the Van Alstyne Education Foundation and The People Who Care, a buying committee supporting participants in the county livestock show.

“I’ve loved being able to give back to Van Alstyne,” she said. “It gave me a lot, so I’m very proud to be back.”