This story is part of a series of “meet & greets” with individuals who use our Adopt a Cow program to inspire you with the endless ways you can incorporate the program in the classroom and beyond!

Eva Cundiff, a bus driver for West Carrollton City Schools in Southwest Ohio, has multiple bus routes and everyone from preschoolers to twelfth-graders on her bus in a given week. So, how does she engage students that she might only see for a few minutes a day?

“I’ve been a bus driver since 1995. Through the years of driving, things have changed. Your normal home life in 1995 is nowhere near what it is now. The money’s not there for food. In our district, we’re fortunate that every child gets free breakfast and free lunch. But our kids need structure. So if I can help one kid smile in a day, I’m going to do it,” she shared.

By providing this structure and a friendly face, she hopes it makes her bus a fun and inviting place for students. Eva also describes it as a “mobile classroom,” where she can make meaningful connections and learning moments with students. That’s what inspired her to try out Discover Dairy’s “Adopt a Cow” program for her bus.

“During the summer, I typically give out ice cream or different things. I also have a newer bus that has Bluetooth, so I create playlists and the kids all enjoy singing songs and having a great time. Anytime I take a group of kids on a field trip, I always try and go in with them, too. With my bus already being kind of like a mobile classroom, I thought we could adopt a cow and try to gear it towards the bus.”

To display the adopted cow prominently on her bus, Eva decided to get a personalized decal with their calf, Peony, so the kids could see her every day. She also offered the program’s coloring sheets to her students as a take-home activity and shared dairy snacks like cheese sticks and yogurt pouches. Eva also thought outside the box when it came to group activities like butter-making – and how she could make them work in a bus setting.

“I wanted to get heavy cream, put it in a plastic container with a lid, let the kids pass it around on the bus, and take turns shaking it the whole time we’re driving to see if they can see it start clumping up to make butter,” Eva shared. “That way, everybody gets to do something. I’d have it finished up by the end of the day when they come back on the bus in the afternoon and they would get to see that it did turn into butter.”  

With many of her students coming from low-income backgrounds, Eva finds it important to teach students where their food comes from and help address food insecurity in a small way.

“I think it’s important to teach students these lessons, especially because of the fact that food is so expensive and not every family has access to it. If they’re learning where it comes from, maybe they might think about what they could do when they grow up and help feed their family,” she added.

Eva has also used the limited time she has with students each day, and the material provided through the Adopt a Cow program, to teach important lessons about nutrition and the world.

“My kids know how to sit and behave because I have expectations for them to keep them safe. I figure while I’ve got their attention and I can mold their minds, why not start instilling ideas about healthy choices? We need to look out for healthy foods to keep our bones strong,” Eva shared.

The Adopt a Cow Program is now open for enrollment for the 2025 school year! Click here to learn more and adopt a cow for your classroom today. The program, which impacted more than 1.7 million students last school year, is free thanks to support from Discover Dairy partners and donors.

Discover Dairy is an educational series managed by the Center for Dairy Excellence Foundation of Pennsylvania in partnership with American Dairy Association Northeast, American Dairy Association Indiana, Midwest Dairy, The Dairy Alliance, Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin, Dairy Management West, Dairy West, New England Dairy, Dairy Farmers of Washington, American Dairy Association Mideast, Dairy Council of Florida, United Dairy Industry of Michigan, Maine Dairy and Nutrition Council, and Oregon Dairy Council.