Growing up in a small town in the Midwest the largest organization in my high school had was the FFA program. In my four years as an FFA member, I learned many valuable lessons. The personal growth I experienced made those four short years some of the most influential in my life. This list of lessons that the FFA has taught me will never be long enough.
Leadership
FFA Chapters are ran by the students. Members help make chapter decisions by voting at meetings and the student officers that were elected do most of the work. By being an officer in my chapter, I learned that being the best leader inspire other by believing in them. With the help of my fellow officers and Ag teacher, I became a leader.
Public Speaking
As being the shy ninth grader I was, I wasn’t exactly too fond of getting up in front of everyone to talk by the end of my senior year I had no problem standing up in front of crowds any size and giving a speech. The value of public speaking is immeasurable. I would not be the person I am today without it.
Problem Solving
I always got told that anything that can go wrong, will go wrong. In our busy chapter, it felt like a new crisis happened almost every week. With every problem that came, they were always ways to solve it. Together we learned how to find and work towards the solution. This skill never fails to help me.
Teamwork
My time in FFA, I was on serval different teams. Committee teams, officer teams, and competition teams, the list could go on forever. Being part of a successful team was figuring out how to get everyone to all work together.
Time Management
With several events to plan each month, we really never had any down time. Day to day operations for my chapter were maintaining the greenhouse, filling out paperwork, taking care of the bunnies, planning the next event, record keeping, just to name a few. Handling my duties in the chapter on top of my regular school work and outside school activities, required me to learn how to manage my time very wisely.
How to prioritize
When there are a dozen of things on your to do list, prioritizing is essential. Knowing where to start is sometimes hardest part, knowing your priorities is incredibly important. Like all of the other items on the list, the skills I learned in FFA are still practical to me today.
Balancing work and Play
While we always worked hard, we always laughed hard too. Some of my best high school memories came from FFA, along with some of inside jokes existence of the universe. We knew when we had to work hard but we also knew when we could relax and let loose.
The Value of Agriculture
Noticing that the other items on the list don’t seem to have anything to do with farming or agriculture. Well, you are wrong. The point I am trying to make clear is the agriculture industry is vast and varied. It is not where your food comes from or milking cows, it is about studying natural resources and figuring out how to feed the growing population. Farmers, food scientist, chemists, biologists, natural resource lawyer, and veterinaries just to name a few different fields involved in the industry. Without agriculture, we don’t exist. That is what FFA teaches the members.
