Tess Edson: Always Setting Her Sights High
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Saj Sundaram
Team Cliff & Vi
Tess Edson, 16, balances the responsibilities of being a student, cheerleader, Future Farmers of America (FFA) member and deer hunter. Each year, when hunting season arrives in the early fall, she heads out to the woods with her younger brother, Gunner, 13, and their dad, Jody.
Hunting is only a part of Tess’s time in the outdoors. When she’s not in the woods, she spends countless hours with her brother practicing on the archery range her father set up for them. In 2026, she was recognized as the young adult female Shooter of the Year by the Archery Sharpshooter Association (ASA).
Away from the range and the woods, Tess helps at her family’s butcher shop, balancing school and work with other activities that fill her free time. Between FFA events, cheerleading, archery competitions and after-school hunting excursions with her family, much of Tess’s life revolves around the people and traditions that have shaped her.
“I found my forever family in it, all my family and friends go hunt together,” Tess says.
Tess Edson, 16, sits in a tree stand, watching the woods, waiting for deer in Stanberry, Mo.
Tess, left, and her dad, Jody, right, dress in their camo before heading out to hunt near Stanberry. “I’ve been hunting my entire life, I’ve been hunting since I was six,” Tess says.
Tess practices her form, technique and precision at the archery range her dad built at their home. She marks her arrows with Bible verses, saying, “When I’m outside that’s when I feel the closest to God.”
Tess has won multiple shooting competitions around the country. In 2026, she was recognized by the ASA Federation as the young adult female Shooter of the Year, winning a belt buckle, which she proudly wears.
Tess helps around the house with a variety of chores, such as mopping the floor.
Tess puts on her makeup and curls her hair before leaving for school. As part of the Stanberry High School’s cheerleading team, she always strives to present her best self.
Tess looks at antlers harvested by Brian Summa while selling fruit for Future Farmers of America to Ginger Summa near Darlington, Mo.
Tess is greeted by her cousin’s horse at the Peery farm near Darlington, Mo., where she spends a significant amount of time.
In the fall, Tess and her father, Jody, often spend their afternoons hunting for deer deep in the woods near Stanberry, Mo. “I really like being outside, I’m one of those people that would rather be home and outside than on vacation” Tess says.
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