MFU’s FFA Essay Contest-1st Place Entry All Because of FFA

by Patrick Stanley, North Callaway FFA

While I was sitting in the middle of a park at a farmers market, an old thin farmer in overalls approached me to look over my table of goods. Suddenly, his eyes lit up as he saw a huge cucumber. As he picked it up, he said, “I like them big since I have no teeth and they are nice and soft.” As he paid for it, he showed an open mouthed smile. It took everything I had to keep my composure. When he left, I felt that I had done a good deed by selling him that cucumber.

Being involved and helping your community is very important, no matter how you do it. My primary individual contribution is my garden, but I also help other people with various jobs. Everything that I am involved in began because of my mother and the FFA.

When I started high school, I intially did not want to take an agricultural class and join the FFA. We do not live on a farm, so I had no intention of becoming a farmer. My mother, though, had a different perspective. She grew up on a dairy farm, so she had an agricultural background, and she thought that the FFA would be good for me. She was right, and now I love the FFA.

Why do I feel that way? Because my FFA chapter is very active. We have several events where we get together to have fun, but then there are times when we get together for the greater good. One of those occasions is our semiannual trash pickup. Twice a year, we go out to the intersection of two major highways to collect trash that people throw out of their cars. Even though it may get messy wading through trash and tall weeds, it ends up being a good time because I am helping clean up my community, the environment and I am doing it with my friends.

As part of FFA and my classroom education, I participate in a Supervised Agricultural Experience, or SAE. The SAE can range from working at McDonald’s to raising your own crops and livestock. I had a difficult time trying to decide what to do for my SAE. I really could not fit a job into my schedule, so I needed an activity that would allow for some flexibility. Since I live in a town, I do not have room for livestock or a field crop. When I finally figured out what to do, I ended up with a backyard garden consisting mostly of tomatoes, even though I do not like tomatoes.

Through my SAE, I provide fresh, organic produce to my community, and I prove that it is possible to have a productive garden in my backyard. People are delighted to buy fresh vegetables, and when I sell them I am sharing my enthusiasm about agriculture and the FFA. I am also using my garden as an environmental example; by growing all the produce in my backyard, I show people that even thought I live in town, and have limited space, I still have a viable garden.

Finally, when selling my produce, people see my ability to do a job well, and occasionally someone asks if I can help them. I am always eager to reply with a “yes.” The work I do can be something like moving a TV from an upstairs bedroom to a car, or yard work for someone who does not have the stamina to do it. I do it because I am happy to help. In the process, I am taking on a leadership role, and continuing to share my enthusiasm.

I want to increase my role in the community by taking on more leadership. As I go through life, my goal is to show leadership by helping those around me, no matter where I live. In the short term, I hope to become president of my FFA chapter. If I do, I would like to promote even more involvement in the community.

I try to influence my community in many ways. I do things through my local FFA chapter, through my SAE and on my own. I want to continue helping by being a positive influence on everyone in my community and even on those who are not part of it. If everyone tried to do likewise, the whole world would be a better place. Sometimes all it takes is a single cucumber.

MFU’s FFA Essay Contest-2nd Place Entry My Vision for the Future

by Celie Long, Monroe City FFA

1 Timothy 4:12 states, “Do not let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.” This scripture verse has been a constant guide for me in my daily life. I feel like I can influence my local community by being a mentor to the youth and by setting an example for those who look up to me.

One of the ways I have become an influence to the younger generation in my community is by becoming actively involved in the classes I have chosen in high school. My agriculture careers and communication class sponsors a PALS program, which stands for “Partners in Active Learning Support.” In this program we are each assigned a first grade student, to whom we mentor throughout the year. We get together with our PALS and do certain planned activities, such as painting pumpkins on Halloween, baking cookies on Valentine’s Day and making homemade birdfeeders out of pinecones. Many of these children come from broken homes and families. By mentoring the children and letting each one understand how important they are to us they are able to gain confidence in themselves and their abilities. My local FFA Chapter participates in the Adopt a Highway program, where we walk along the road to pick up trash. This helps keep our community clean and looking nice for those visiting our town. I am also involved in Future Teachers of America, which allows me to assist in teaching a second grade class for an hour each day. My duties during this class include being a personal aide for a little girl with downs syndrome. By helping her each day, I believe she feels she belongs, regardless of her disability. In addition, I have benefited from this activity by gaining valuable experience in working with others.

My involvement does not end when the school day is over, but carries over into my own personal religious experiences. For example, each Sunday I teach the pre-school religious education class. My duties there include teaching three to five-year old children Bible stories and prayers. On a higher level, I also help the other teens in my parish. I am a member of the core group at my local church, in which we discuss and plan the activities that the youth will be involved in throughout the upcoming month. One of the many activities that the youth of my parish has been involved in is a “Day of Caring.” On this day, the youth divide into groups and go out into our community to help those who are unable to complete certain tasks on their own. My group raked the yard of an elderly lady, and also painted a shed that needed a new coat. Another way I have learned to set an example for the youth in my community is by wearing a chastity ring that reads ‘True Love Waits’. This gesture not only reminds me of my commitment, but has encouraged many of my peers to think more about their actions and what it hold for their future.

As I look toward the future, I am reminded of the quote, ”I do not know what the future holds, but I do know WHO holds the future.” I have a vision of someday I would like to be a youth minister, so I will be able to be a positive influence on the lives of many youth. I have already begun to take steps in reaching my goal to help others. Recently I volunteered to be a lector at mass, which involves proclaiming the Scripture reading for the day. This summer I am attending my second year of Catholic Heart Work Camp. This is a week long event where youth from our parish community join with others from all over the nation to work in twenty-six cities across the United States. By attending this camp, I can see what the youth of this generation are able to do for others. This has inspired me to reach out to others to help them develop their full potential. My future and the future of community begins today, therefore my vision for the future must also begin today!

MFU’s FFA Essay Contest-3rd Place Entry I will influence my local community by becoming a servant leader

by Erin Croy, Gallatin FFA

I want to tell you a story. It is about a little girl and her dream. The story begins on a farm near a small town. Not so different from where you may live. There is nothing really remarkable about this child. At least there was nothing special that you could see from the outside. She grew up on her family farm and she loved animals. She especially loved pigs, and she began to show them when she was only two years old. Another part of her life was growing up around teachers. Her father was an agriculture teacher and FFA advisor. Her mother taught third grade. From the moment she was born she was taken to every school event imaginable. Her parents were also involved in service organizations with their church. Between school and work on the farm, between volunteering and advising youth, it seemed they were never home. She was with her parents every step of the way. Soon she began helping at FFA events. She joined 4-H and became active in that as well. All too quickly the years sped past and she was in high school. She became chapter President and an area FFA officer. She served as President of her 4-H Club. She was a class officer and she became an officer in two professional organizations. All of the pieces are in place for this to be a great story. A good kid, who works hard and gets ahead, that is the way it is supposed to work, but there is a lot more to it. You see, a lot of young people get to this point and then …that’s it. That is the end of their story. They don’t continue to build their legacy and to lead. They never grasp what it is to become a servant leader. That isn’t true of the young lady in questions. I’m proud to say that she is me, and my dream is to help others.

I’m proud of my heritage. I’m about as country as they get these days. I’m not ashamed to tell folks that I grew up on a hog farm. I consider it a point of pride. I am also proud to be a member of the FFA. My goal is to become an agriculture teacher and to teach young people the importance of agriculture in today’s society. I also want to develop the next generation of leaders through the FFA. My goal is to become an agriculture teacher and to teach young people the importance of agriculture in today’s society. I also want to develop the next generation of leaders through the FFA organization. I believe in production agriculture and the family farm and I want to do all that I can to help preserve this way of life for future generations. I think that this can be accomplished, and only through education can we do it. My dream is also to live on a farm and to raise my family in the country. 4-H and FFA have made me who I am and I think that it is only fair that I give something back to the organizations that have given so much to me. I will not be satisfied to just be an agriculture teacher. I want to be the best. I want to lead, make the organization better and more productive for everyone. Because I see education and agricultural literacy as the keys to our future, I intend to become a voice for our industry. These are ways that I can lead through service to others.

Besides the ways of which I have already spoken, I have other plans and ideas that will allow me to influence my local community. I will be active in commodity organizations as well as groups like the Farmers Union. By working and marketing together we can insure a more profitable and secure future for all of agriculture. Old biases must be forgotten and new alliances forged if we are to prosper. It isn’t easy to give so much of your time. It takes away from you family, but if you include them in activities then you can take advantage of the opportunity to set a good example for your children, just like my parents did for me. Through their willingness to help others, I have dedicated myself to that same goal. I know that I will help on the fair board and I will be a 4-H leader. I also feel that I have a responsibility to be a good Christian and to be active in my church.

I know what volunteering is all about. I have logged over 400 hours in the past four years. I have been named a Prudential Presidential Volunteer and the state FFA winner in the home and community development proficiency award. This recognition is nice, but the feelings of accomplishment that I have gained from helping others are the best feeling in the world. Through service to others I will strive to become a better leader. This will let me know help agriculture and become an influence in my local community. The little girl that I began by telling you about will be all grown up!