Tate Prince is making his family’s legacy his own by working toward a veterinary career at BYU-Hawaii and at Gunstock Ranch.
Born and raised in Raymond, Alberta, Canada, Prince is a freshman majoring in biomedical sciences.
Attending BYUH is a bit of a tradition in his family, he said. “Both of my parents came here, as did my older brother and sister.”
He said he loves the ocean and the fish, and his favorite part about going to school at BYUH is the smallness and intimacy of the classes. When he is not attending classes, Prince said he is over at Gunstock Ranch working.
It was no surprise Prince was able to obtain a job at Gunstock, for his life in Canada was filled with ranching. “I got my own horse when I was 5 years old,” he said, “and I broke and trained him with my grandpa.”
He explained his small hometown of Raymond has 3,000 people, and his family has lived there for several generations.
“I lived out of town on an acreage, so I thought going to Raymond was going to the city,” said Prince. He said the plains are flat and his neighbors’ occupations were just farming and ranching. “That’s what everyone does.”
Everyone included him. He said he also worked on a ranch back home. “It’s about 200 acres of land, and we have cows and horses.”
Prince said in the two-week gap between returning from serving as a full-time missionary in the Australia Perth Mission and starting classes at BYUH, he took the initiative to search for ranches located on Oahu, and Gunstock came up. He sent an email explaining his background and expressed he would love to come for an interview. He said they hired him within a heartbeat.
“I landed here on Sunday, and started working on Monday. So I didn’t even have a day to go surfing.”
He said he has been working there for six months and enjoys every second of it. “I like being around the animals. I like being outdoors. I enjoy riding horses. I like working cattle. All day, every day,” he said.
Prince said he has to do a bunch of ranch work and fix and make things. He said when working, it is vital to be positive and think about why you are there when you run into challenges. Prince said his life motto is “Work hard and play hard,” and others in his life can see the extent of that.
Josh Cram, a sophomore in secondary education from Kauai, is a good friend of Prince. They served together as mission companions and were also roommates at BYUH.
Cram said, “My favorite thing about Tate is his humor. He’s really witty and sarcastic. He’s always down to drop inside jokes.”
Gerritt Bradley, a senior from Utah majoring in psychology, works with Prince at Gunstock Ranch. He also said Prince is extremely funny. He said, “Tate can make anyone laugh. He’s hilarious and has a very specific sense of humor.”
As a missionary, Cram said Prince was a hard worker. “Whenever we did service, he was a workhorse,” he said. “He’s always willing to work, and he’ll never say no if someone asks him for help.”
Bradley also attested to that. He said, “Tate is an exceptionally hard worker. Whatever [activity] he’s doing, he’s very focused on it. As a coworker he’s very helpful. He’s supportive and always there to help. He’ll set aside anything to help.” Prince said he enjoys trying to lift others up.
Cram and Bradley shared some talents of Prince. They said he has a hidden skill of using a bullwhip, is an incredible football and rugby player, and even served as an assistant to the president during his missionary service.
Prince said he loved his mission. “It was such a knowledge and faith-building time. That’s where I learned about the gospel. I grew up in the church, but it’s not the same. It was definitely eye-opening,” Prince said. He said he loved connecting with people and learning about different cultures on his mission.
While working, “I’ve learned that no job is more important than the people you are with,” said Prince. “I love my co-workers. Everyone is super nice. Some are university students as well, so it’s a pretty wholesome environment. Everyone gets along really well and they treat us like a family. It’s nice and cozy.”
Bradley explained the kind of work he and Prince do. “We’re cross-trained at the ranch to do wrangler work, which entails training and riding the horses. We also take people on guided tours through the mountains.
“Then we also work on the ranch, which means we take care of the cattle, fencing, water systems for the horses, and maintenance of the machines.”
Prince has aspirations to get a job where he can take care of animals. He said, “I’m trying to become a vet, so working with animals [at Gunstock] gives me a good experience. Every situation is good, from little sicknesses to taking care of the animals including cats, goats, and sheep.”
Prince also said veterinary work runs in his family. “My grandpa is a vet, four of my uncles are vets, and a couple of my cousins are going to vet school,” he said. “It doesn’t feel like it’s a ‘following-in-the-steps’ thing. I feel like it’s my own thing, but I think it is also something that is in our blood. So, that’s why it feels like it’s what I want.”
Being the youngest of four children, Prince said he appreciates how each member of his family is different, and it is their similar humor that connects their whole family.
He said, “I love going to family reunions, being out working and getting something done around the house together… and boating. Our family is a boating family.”
Now that he is attending university in Hawaii, in his free time Prince said he loves to be in the ocean. “Josh and I are semi-sub-par-professional free-divers. We go to Shark’s Cove and dive the caves there. I’m not the best at it, but I’ve picked up surfing a bit.”
Prince encouraged all students interested in outdoor adventure to visit Gunstock Ranch. More information on activities offered there can be found on gunstockranch.com.
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Writer: Leslie Owusu