CASPER, Wyo. - It's not difficult to understand her motivation, but it's still hard to fathom how Vale native and University of Wyoming junior Nikki Steffes finds the time or room to cram anything more into an already demanding schedule.

She's always gotten so much out of rodeo at every level, she says, so she tries to assume some kind of a leadership role whenever she can. It's an attitude she comes by naturally. Her parents taught her early on about the importance of giving back, and she has always taken that notion to heart.

It's no different now that she's participating in college rodeo. At this week's College National Finals Rodeo, she is wrapping up her first year as student director for the Central Rocky Mountain Region. She will remain in the position for the next two years.

And it is a demanding one in many respects. At the regional level, she chairs twice-a-semester board meetings with event directors, coaches and student representatives from every team. She has numerous responsibilities at every region rodeo, in particular making certain that sponsor banners are displayed prominently. She and Eastern Wyoming College coach Jake Clark, the region's faculty director, attend national board meetings that are held during the National Finals Rodeo in December in Las Vegas and again this week here at the Events Center.

"It's not like you suddenly have a lot to do at once," Steffes explained. "It's a bunch of little things to do every day."

As a national board member, she also must help this week to make certain the CNFR runs smoothly. She is event director for team roping. She helped to prepare and made decisions about the livestock. She monitors the event at every slack and performance so that it runs smoothly, and that includes making certain that teams are ready to go when it's their turn. And, if a contestant has a concern, he must go to her first and she takes it to the judges.

"The CNFR is unique," she said. "It is a first-class production, and it's as close to the Wrangler National Finals as you're going to get. I love the atmosphere.

"Part of the reason I wanted to be involved is so that I could learn what it takes to put on an event like this. You learn how many people it takes and how important each person is, and you have to help make sure that they're in the right place at the right time."

Speaking of time, it's a wonder she can find any extra, given the demands of school and the rodeo team.

Steffes maintains a 4.0 grade-point average in two majors, molecular biology and medical microbiology. This spring, she took 16 hours of molecular biology classes. In the fall, she had 15 hours of similar courses.

She's also the defending national all-around champion cowgirl - a fact that again was reflected this season in the Central Rocky Mountain Region standings. She won the barrel racing and the goat tying, placed eighth in the breakaway roping, and won the women's region all-around title.

So, why add anything more to an already full plate?

"I don't count the hours. It's just something I really enjoy," she said. "I have learned a lot.

"There are so many opportunities that this position has allowed for me. I have met a lot of great friends, and I have met a lot of people from around the country that I have been able to work with this past year. Mostly, I felt that college rodeo has done so much for me, I wanted to give back a little bit."

Steffes is still hoping to be the all-around factor this week that she was last season. Through three barrel runs, she's sixth in the aggregate and in good position to make Saturday's championship round. She makes her final qualifying run in the goat tying on Friday night.

Asked if her additional responsibilities this week have distracted her in any way from the rodeo competition, Steffes just shook her head.

Then, she said: "I'm just a lot busier than I've been before. I get to rodeos a lot earlier, and I stay a lot later. It's that kind of deal."