Welcome to the first episode of "Class Reunion: The Podcast!" 

To kick off this show about high school, let's meet someone who couldn't graduate fast enough. 

This week, you'll hear from Shane Clinkenbeard, who graduated from Aurora High School a semester early to pursue a career as a bull rider. 

His love of the rodeo carried him far away from the Midwest, but he has settled on a piece of land in Kissee Mills, a small Missouri community not far from the Arkansas border, where he's now raising a son, Creek, with his wife, Jayme. 

In this conversation with host Addie Broyles, he explains what he loved about living out of a van during his rodeo days, what he learned out in Cody, Wyoming, that he still carries with him today and what dreams he still holds for himself now that his bull riding career is behind him. 

This episode is sponsored by Advanced Eyecare Kansas City.

Each week, I make a donation on behalf of the featured classmate, and this week's donation went to Junior Pro Bull Riders Missouri, which helps up-and-coming junior bull riders in Southwest Missouri. 

Follow "Class Reunion" on Instagram @classreunionpodcast. Become a Patreon at patreon.com/classreunionpodcast.

Thanks to Alyssa Vidales for production assistance on this show.