Drinking the Kool-Aid: The Impact FFA has on Students

National Convention '13 with my advisors Miss Christian
Miss Jedd and Mr.O'Keefe

As a high school student I remember going as a freshman to the Jr. Leadership Conference for the Connecticut State FFA Association. We rotated to different rooms and learned what FFA is from the State FFA Officers. This was not my first FFA event since I had competed in Horse Evaluation earlier that year but, it was the first event where I thought "Wow I want to be part of this."

My FFA Journey 

I am blessed to have come from a chapter with 5 FFA advisors. All 5 of them pushed me in ways I couldn't push myself. I became involved in FFA my freshman year of high school by competing in horse evaluation. I was so confused on what was going on the day of the contest and why I was even there. My sophomore year our horse evaluation team placed 1st at states and moved on to Big E and National Convention. I remember my advisor, Mrs.Digioia, spending long hours before and after school and in the summer working with our team to prepare us for the contest. She definitely pushed our team to the breaking point several times but, it was worth it when we placed 9th national in horse evaluation.

Outside of CDE/LDEs I had the opportunity to be a chapter officer serving as the Southington FFA Parliamentarian and Vice President. These were not opportunities I would not have gone for without help from Mrs.Digioia or  Miss Christian. I was so unsure if I would be able to do a good job in serving my chapter but, my advisors showed me I can and I should.

My State FFA Officer team at State Convention 2015

During my senior year I decided to run for State FFA Office. It was my advisor, Mrs.Stannard, who had been a state officer that helped coach me for the Nominating Committee interview. Each day she would give me a new topic to look at. I had a packet of possible questions ready to go. Mrs.Digioia assisted me with the oral speeches I needed to write as part of my application and helped me practice them in case that became part of the interview. The two of them together pulled a ton from their colleagues to help me have the resources I needed to get ready for the day of the interview.

As a student I always appreciated the time my advisors put in and the belief they had in me. Looking back, I see how from freshman year to the end of my state office year I grew from being quiet and shy to a girl who can stand up at the State FFA Convention and deliver a speech. What I did not realize until my student teaching was how much behind the scenes things my advisors needed to do to make sure I was able to attend these different events.

My FFA Philosophy

FFA is a great organization but, sometimes it becomes the center of a program. In agriculture education we use a 3 circle model that contains classroom instruction, Supervised Agricultural Experience (SAE) and FFA to help create better leaders of students leaving our program. These 3 parts all need to work together and balance each other out.

FFA intertwines into both of these easily so, it is easy to get into the mindset that the FFA Chapter runs your agriculture program. Someone like me who bled the blue and gold for so long it is hard for me sometimes to sit back and realize that I do not have to do every FFA event to have a good chapter. It is back to the idea of quality over quantity. I should be picking events that reach my students needs. This comes into play with CDE/LDE and leadership events.

My horse Judging team with our advisor Mrs.Digioia

Each chapter is different. My home chapter of Southington had a 23 person officer team. This was a tad bit extensive but, it kept students motivated and help students obtain leadership skills they might not have been able to get otherwise. Being a great advisor and a good chapter means making those decisions (like the 23 person officer team) that seem unique to some because it is what is best for your students and your program.

At the end of the day FFA is an essential part of my program. It provides students the opportunity to take the knowledge they are learning in my program and then applying it in a way that provides skills to help make them a better rounded individual.

Thank you

Thank you to Mrs.Digioia, Miss Christian (Mrs.Zielinski), Ms.Shields(Mrs.Jedd), Mrs.Stannard and Mr.O'Keefe for the dedication you had to being my FFA Advisors. I would not have became the woman I am today without the 5 of you!