Raise a glass, Bachelor Nation — because today is Michelle Young’s birthday!

Our Season 18 Bachelorette is turning the big 2-8 and to celebrate, we’re reflecting on her journey from beloved “Bachelor” Season 25 contestant to future franchise lead.

As fans are well aware, Michelle and fellow Season 25 standout Katie Thurston were announced as the next Bachelorettes at this year’s shocking “After the Final Rose” special, hosted by Emmanuel Acho. While Katie’s Season 17 will debut on Monday, Michelle’s cycle will air this fall.

Michelle expressed her excitement at becoming the Bachelorette during a March interview with “Good Morning America.”

“My first response was, ‘Wait a second, we’re dating the same men and there’s two of us?’ And I was like, ‘I have a lot of questions,’” Michelle said with a laugh, noting that she was relieved to discover she and Katie were given individual cycles.

Elsewhere, Michelle explained how she hopes to be a conduit for progress within Bachelor Nation as the third woman of color to lead “The Bachelorette” — following Season 13’s Rachel Lindsay and Season 16’s Tayshia Adams.

“They know that I’m going to push forward to make an impact in a positive way, and I think they’re kind of jumping on my train to do that with me,” Michelle said of the support she feels from the franchise at large.

The gorgeous schoolteacher also joked that she asked Katie to “iron out all the kinks” before she begins her search for love.

“All jokes aside, I just told her to continue to be herself,” Michelle elaborated, revealing the advice she gave Katie before her run as the Bachelorette. “[There is] nothing better than walking away from this experience knowing that the person that you choose hopefully loves you for exactly who you are.”

Around the same time, Michelle made an appearance on the “Bachelor Happy Hour” podcast, during which she told co-hosts Becca Kufrin and Rachel Lindsay what she’s looking for in a husband.

“The biggest thing I look for in someone is if they have that intrinsic motivation. I’m a very motivated person. I have a lot of goals. I want to make an impact. It’s super important for me to have that in my partner,” said Michelle.

“You can bring the best side out of each other when you’re with the right person and I love that. But, also, it’s super important for whoever I’m with to come into that relationship with that intrinsic motivation because that’s something that I’m really attracted to — somebody who is not just going to talk the talk but also walk the walk.”

The Minnesota native also shared that emotional intelligence is imperative. “Not that you have to be able to perfectly talk about your feelings — but to know what you’re feeling and to be empathetic to the person that you’re with and to be open-minded,” she said. “Have an argument with someone who’s close-minded and that’s a really difficult situation. Those are the two things that I’m really looking for.”