There’s no mistaking Farmer Snapp.
 
It’s not necessarily because of his look, rocking his distinct long, straight sandy brown hair that doesn’t necessarily adhere to the resurging “mullet look” but instead harkens back to a style popular in the 1960s and 70s.
 
Nor is it necessarily because of his unique first name, one that is both fitting given his agricultural background and perhaps a bit of a misnomer given his varied interests beyond the family farm.
 
While those attributes certainly play into Snapp’s persona, it’s his true passions in life – music and hard work – that elevate the Republic County senior into the unmistakable figure he’s become in and outside the Belleville community.
 
“He just sticks out as one of those kids that I remember when I first got here,” said Republic County principal Lindsay Cravens, who assumed her position at the school in August 2024. “He’s quiet, not going to say much. But he’s a good example of how to strive to do your best in anything you put your mind to. It doesn’t matter if it’s academics, athletics, performance in music. He’s just so talented in a lot of areas. He’s a leader, a trustworthy kid and just very grown up for his age.
 
“He’s just got that whole package.”
 
Snapp is this week’s CapFed® True Blue® Student of the Week.
 

 
Long before you meet Snapp in person or even hear about him, chances are, you’ve heard from him. Or rather from the music he creates as a percussionist for the varied Republic County bands.
 
He plays lead snare in the Buffaloes marching band as the section leader for the Marching Buffs Drumline. For concert band, he’s versatile on any number of the percussion instruments from snare to bass to tympani.
 
But it’s when he’s sitting at the drum set for the Republic County pep bad where Snapp is truly at home and himself. The sometimes quiet and somewhat shy senior transforms into someone completely accustomed to and 100% comfortable being in the spotlight.
 
The stage is his and he owns it.
 
“I’ve never heard myself described like that before, but I would say it’s a very fair description,” Snapp said. “It’s kind of how it is, able to be myself and move a little bit while I’m up there.
 
“I’d say (music’s) easily the biggest influence in my life and how I am. Every day of my life, I’m listening to music. On my way to school, on my way to work, on my way to the farm, constantly. I don’t know that I’ve gone a single day of my life without listening to music so it’s a very big influence in my life. It’s the freedom of expression, being able to be yourself and express yourself through music I think is why I’m so drawn to it.”
 
It started, as Snapp said, at an early age. He remembers music, in particular rock music, being on no matter where he was going or what he was doing. His father, Jeremy, had grown up drumming and played in the Belleville High School band during his prep days. He still plays drums for a local band, Bourbon Street, and as Snapp’s interest in music continued to grow, Jeremy did his part to enhance the journey.
 
“He has been a drummer for a very long time,” Snapp said of his father. “His brother was a drummer as well and one day got on his brother’s set without asking when he was gone and turns out he was actually good at it. He just took it and ran and ended up getting super-good at it. He taught me the basics of getting into it and I took it and ran and learned some of my own things as I went along.”
 

 
Snapp was already well into his percussion career when Jenny Kling returned to her alma mater to take over the music department. And immediately upon her arrival into the program she once played in, Snapp caught her attention.
 
“I caught Farmer as a sophomore and the one thing that’s excellent about Farmer is his persistence and dedication,” Kling said. “Once he decides to set his mind to do something, he’s going to stick it out and see it to the end. That’s been difficult for a lot of students here at Republic County. They’ve had music directors come in and out and a lot of kids jumped ship. But Farmer and quite a few others ended up staying.
 
“What I see in the band room, he’s taken the lead. He actually starts our rehearsals, especially during marching season. He gets all the drummers to their instruments and clicks off our drum cadence and that’s how we start rehearsal every day. That’s something he did, not something I told him to do. He’ll tell them, ‘I want the fast cadence,’ or ‘I want the slow cadence. This is what I want’ and he is just a very good leader for me in the band room. And I think the other students look up to that.” 
 
The passion he feels for music is something Snapp said he just naturally wants to try to pass on to his peers and those coming up in the Republic County band program.
 
“It’s nice to be able to help people understand music, how rhythms go and teach them the different accents on the snare drum or quads,” he said. “We always talk about being able to find emotion in music in band class and learning how to express yourself through that as well. I think Ms. Kling is a big influence for me in that sense. Being able to help people put the music together as a whole, so that not only am I able to experience music in different ways, but the entire class is able to feel the music and experience it and feel how it’s supposed to feel from the composer.”
 
Kling and Republic County counselor Michelle Hubert said they’ve seen the impact that the marching band in particular has had both in and outside Belleville.
 
“I had the pleasure of watching our band at a parade in Salina and got to listen to the comments of people who didn’t know I was from Republic County,” Hubert said. “There was nothing more fulfilling listening to those comments as our band marched by and our drummers beating from blocks away. They were like, ‘Who’s that? Who’s coming?’ And I wanted to yell, ‘That’s my band! That’s my band!’ Even though they’re not really mine. It’s because of leaders like Farmer that I got to listen to all those comments from people who didn’t know me or that I was from Republic County.”
 
For Kling, some of her biggest excitement comes when she annually has the marching band perform a parade for the elementary students.
 
“It’s fun to watch those little kids and it’s unfortunate that Farmer and the others don’t get to see what I get to see through those other kids’ eyes,” she said. “I’m always stopping the kids about two blocks away and I tell the kids, ‘I want you to look ahead at what’s happening up here.’ Those kids are standing at the fence, jumping up and down, pretending to match. They’re playing air drums. ‘This is what you guys are instilling in our youth. That’s the future of the program and you guys are planting the seed right now.’
 

 
“They see the leadership that’s happening with those seniors, and that’s something that’s happened the past couple of years where we’ve had seniors step in and fill those roles, and the younger students in that class just follow suit. They don’t want mediocrity and they want to be excellent in what they do. We have a strong history of music here at Belleville High School/Republic County High School and we are building that back to continue that tradition.”
 
Next week, Republic County’s concert band will compete at the State Large Group Music Festival in Concordia. The band received a I+ rating at last year’s state festival and this year has received numerous I and I+ ratings at different festivals and competitions.
 
If Snapp is being honest, that genre of music wasn’t exactly one he was naturally excited about playing when he first started. Things are different now.
 
“I used to be very close-minded about that and didn’t think concert music was the best or jazz music wasn’t the best,” he said. “But once I learned to appreciate it more, I find concert band to be one of my more preferred options. Obviously pep band will always be a very big place in my heart because that’s where I grew up. However, the way that concert band flows and the pieces our music director picks have the ability to bring out more emotion, you can really feel the music more. Some people might not understand that, but the way you can feel music is just living a whole other life. It’s hard to really explain how it feels.”
 
That said, Snapp’s jam is still sitting at a drum set rocking out. He loves old school 1980s rock bands like Skid Row and Warrant as well as newer groups such as Breaking Benjamins and Three Days Grace. Not to mention generation-gap crossing Guns N’ Roses.
 
Some of his biggest thrills have come when he’s joined his dad’s band, Bourbon Street, during gigs they’ve played at Chesterfest, a mid-June festival in nearby Chester, Neb. Last year, the band opened for Grammy Award winning Diamond Rio. Two years ago, Snapp and his father performed Under Your Scars by Godsmack.
 
“That was definitely the pinnacle of my drumming experience and most memorable,” Snapp said. “I’d never been on stage in front of that many people before, like a couple thousand. It was a little surreal.”
 
Snapp’s musical career is only scratching the surface of what he brings to the table at Republic County. 
 
In addition to being a member of Republic County’s various bands, Snapp is a member of the school’s Science Club, Future Farmers of America program, Future Business Leaders of America program, National Honor Society and Kansas Association of Youth.
 
The latter is where Hubert, Republic County’s KAY sponsor, gets to first-hand see what Snapp has to offer. He’s one of only a handful of males in a club dominated by females, so Hubert does see the quiet, shy version of Snapp, particularly early on. But she’s also seen the side of Snapp that isn’t hesitant to step in and get things done.
 
“We are pretty female heavy and I probably saw a little more of the shy guy because he was really outnumbered,” she said. “But I also knew that if I need something from him, it would get done if I asked. I really tried to get some of those senior boys to step out of their comfort zone a little bit and do a little bit more service. He’s done a great job. He’s so mature and so grown up and I’ve always found Farmer so incredibly polite. That’s not always the case. I just think he has a great respect for people that have given him opportunities and it doesn’t matter who you are.
 
“A lot of the leaders that I have, they expect something out of being a leader. And I don’t get that from Farmer at all. The intrinsic reward of serving others is there for him and I think that’s something that’s instilled in him very early. He wasn’t expecting extra credit or expecting compliments. That’s the kind of leader I think he is and that’s one thing that’s good about KAY Club is it allows you the opportunity to be that kind of leader. You don’t have to be in the limelight and a lot of our kids are most successful behind the scenes.”
 
Early in his high school career, Snapp was certainly more comfortable in just lurking behind the scenes and admitted he wasn’t necessarily a go-getter. But one day he was having lunch with close friend Levi White, a standout runner for the Buffaloes and their conversation flipped a switch with him.
 
‘He just told me maybe I wasn’t on the right track with my life, doing all the things I could be doing,” Snapp recalled. “He brought some things to my attention that I never really thought about before and said, ‘You’ve got to make a switch.’ That really clicked something in my mind. Everything changed. I started being more outgoing, helping others, helping others learn and really got into being a hard-working person. My life has really grown exponentially from there.”
 
The work ethic Snapp displays now has always been there. In addition to their family farm, both of his parents are business owners in the area. Jeremy owns Snapp Automotive LLC in Belleville and his mother, Gretta, owns Jitters Coffee House in nearby Concordia. Farmer has worked for both of his parents throughout his life and that’s led to a business-oriented mindset he’s developed and followed through on.
 
His mom also provided him with a book that he still keeps on a bedside table – The Success Principles by Jack Canfield – which outlines 64 principles for achieving personal and professional goals.
 
“Growing up my parents have 100% been the biggest influence on my life,” Snapp said. “They taught me the lessons of hard work through everyday life. Them teaching me hard work has really pushed me to broaden my horizons and expand and teach myself new things.”
 
Through his father’s business, Snapp was able to start up his own business, Snapp Auto Detailing. The idea sprung from his own desire to keep his first two trucks looking sharp and clean and from there it took off.
 
“I got good at it and then I started helping my mom detail her vehicles,” he said. “I just thought, ‘I’m pretty decent at this,’ and thought I would advertise and help other people. I was able to put some stuff together and put it out there and within five minutes I already had my first client. People know our family and how we work and that’s how I got my start and it took off from there.”
 

 
What began in October 2024 has become a burgeoning business that keeps Snapp perhaps even busier than he cares to be sometimes. But it didn’t stop him from adding another business to his resume, starting Twin Oaks Cattle Company after buying four pairs of cattle.
 
He applied his business plans to his work in FBLA and last year came one spot away from qualifying for nationals. They also have helped him place second in the Youth Entrepreneurial Challenge, sponsored by Republic County Economic Development for youth at Republic County and Pike Valley high schools.
 
A 10-year member of the Discovery 4-H Club in Belleville, Snapp completed his career in the club by receiving the 4-H Key award.
 
“It can be a difficult award to get and certainly one of the most difficult things I’ve done in the clubs I’ve been in,” he said. “I was very fortunate to get it.”
 
Good fortune seems to be a by-product of Snapp’s hard-working and driven mentality. He plans to study engineering at Kansas State next year and already has been accepted into the department as a freshman. He’ll get a bit of a jump start on that career this summer as he’s earned an internship with Kaw Valley Engineering Inc., a civil engineering firm in Junction City.
 
Such internships are generally reserved for college students after their sophomore or junior years. But Snapp took it upon himself to seek out the opportunity and it paid off.
 
Seeking out opportunities is what drew Snapp into KAY as well. And though there wasn’t a certain project that jumped out as his favorite experience with the club, the entirety of its purpose is what speaks to him most.
 
“I love the volunteer-based experiences you’re able to get from it,” Snapp said. “It’s very similar to 4-H in that way. I haven’t done as much in KAY as 4-H or band and stuff, but the impact on the community that a club like KAY has is very special, especially in a small community like Belleville.”
 
Arguably one of Snapp’s most special times at Republic County came this fall. A four-year starter for the football program, Snapp and his fellow seniors endured some rough times early in their careers, going 1-8 their freshman season followed by an 0-9 season in 2023 and then a 2-7 mark in 2024.
 
But the senior class made their mark this year. Republic County opened the year with a thrilling overtime win over Troy and then after falling to Ellsworth in Week 2, ripped off seven straight wins, capturing the program’s first-ever district title since the consolidation of Belleville and Hillcrest-North Central in 2005.
 
The eight wins were the most since Belleville went 8-1 in 1999.
 
“I still get chills and a rush of being a part of something like that,” said Snapp, who earned first-team All-District honors at both linebacker and on the offensive line. “Going from freshman year not being great and sophomore, junior year kind of the same, Republic County football wasn’t getting it done. Senior year, how much put together we were able to play and the friendships and bonds we were able to form along the way was just unreal and made it so special. It was just an unreal experience.”
 

 
In a sense, Snapp’s football positions are symbolic of his impact at Republic County as a whole. Linemen often go unnoticed but their work is invaluable to a team’s success. Linebackers can stand out a bit more, like when Snapp is banging away on the drum set.
 
“He’s not that kid that’s searching for the spotlight, he’s just not,” Kling said. “But he is in the spotlight, especially in the gymnasium when he’s on the stage and on that drum set going crazy. But he’s not one that’s looking for that pat on the back all the time. He lays low and does what he needs to do to be successful.”
 
Snapp agrees with that.
 
“Really it’s just putting my nose down and getting things done,” he said. “But there’s also an empathetic side to me and I didn’t really have that and wasn’t very outgoing at all when I was younger. But I’ve learned more of that and if someone’s having a bad day or having a rough time, being able to talk with people, get their head back up and get them going in the right direction and giving them that confidence to keep going and do everything they can to get it done, I enjoy that. 
 
“Being able to help people get to a higher level and be the best they can be – in band teaching them different parts and my perspective on things that they can then take and make their own – that’s a big leader aspect of me. I always want our school to be the best it can be so to be a leader has definitely been an enjoyable part of my high school career.”