“Future Farmers of America (FFA) has a place for everyone. There are so many different parts that you’re not going to know about until you’re a part of it. 

It’s definitely been the most influential part of my high school experience. It’s a really great experience overall, and anyone can find their spot in this organization. 

This is my second year being president of our Bellaire chapter. It’s been a great way to grow my leadership experience within FFA, and it really helped me branch out. Whenever I got into high school, I was very reserved, but now I’m able to talk in front of crowds of 300 people. FFA has been a great way to help my community, meet so many people and influence them positively. 

One of my favorite memories was getting to go to Washington D.C. for a week for a leadership conference. Our chapter was there with a group of 300 kids from all over the U.S., and we got to really focus on what we can bring back to our community to help. We got to see what our communities need but also everyone’s differences — where they were coming from and what their communities were struggling with. 

We get to go to our FFA agricultural state conventions every summer with our officer teams to learn leadership strategies. They’re either in Dallas, Fort Worth or Houston, and I’ve been to all three now. Every year, it’s been great connecting with the group because it’s always a new team you go with, and it’s a really fun summer experience to just get into the groove of the year.

Leadership and being on the officer team are definitely the most important aspects of FFA. I not only have to lead everyone by helping them with the livestock that they’re raising, but we also have monthly meetings and events for the entire chapter to attend. Being president has taught me a lot that I can use in college and for the rest of my life. I’ve learned a lot of time-management skills between the animals, running the chapter, getting all of our events organized and still getting sleep every night. 

Near the end of every school year, we have our livestock show and auction, where students show and sell their animals and other projects. To close out the year, we have our banquet where new officers are elected, awards are given out and we get to celebrate our accomplishments from the year. 

Last year, we went to Braeburn Country Club and talked to this group of donors from the Rotary Club. We pitched our chapter, talked about what we needed help with and got donations back from that. The outreach — being able to go out into different scenarios and presenting our chapter and ourselves well — really helped me grow in FFA and in myself.”