On Oct. 26, the Vandegrift Future Farmers of America team competed in Indianapolis at the national level, placing third in the country. Individually, Vandegrift alum Kirsten Tjelmeland placed first nationally.
“Technically, I don’t do FFA anymore because I’m a freshman in college,” Tjelmeland said. “So the FFA I was doing this fall was really kind of finishing up the season that was last spring, the end of my senior year. It was a little strange, considering, you know, I’m at Texas A&M now.”
She only joined the team her junior year, quickly rising through their ranks. Normally, FFA members will raise an animal to show at contests, where it would be judged for its health.
“I also joined FFA late, so I didn’t get a typical ‘raising the animal’ experience. I really, really regret not doing more FFA. Because I [think] it’s really cool.”
The contest at the state level consists of various sections, including veterinary math, medical practicum, and an ID section, where competitors are given images of animals, organs, and various other animal-related items to identify.
“ID was always my favorite part, because I’m a super huge dog nerd,” Tjelmeland said. “There’s a giant dog poster on my wall. The dog knowledge is never ending. And this is the perfect outlet for me to be a big, big yapper. For example, the cropping of the ears. You know, if you see a little, little dog and its ears are cropped, but you can’t tell if it’s a chihuahua or a miniature pinscher, well, chihuahuas don’t get their ears cropped. Honestly, [it’s] really ingrained in my head.”
After competing at the state level, the team advanced to the national level and flew out to Indianapolis, Indiana. The competition provides an opportunity for aspiring agricultural and veterinary workers to showcase their knowledge.
“It’s always exciting when they have real organs instead of fake organs,” Tjelmeland said. “It’s cool, it’s a practical experience. To people who are going into medicine, they’re like organs, what do you mean? You look at a heart and you know it’s a heart, but I feel like it’s important with vet med. And now that I’m taking college classes that are expanding on some of this stuff, I automatically know some of it.”
Besides Kirsten, the team consisted of Vandegrift alum Emma Tydeman and current students Campbell Jordan (11) and Brooke Cox (10).
“I am so super proud of my team,” Tjelmeland said. “I think we’ve done such a cool thing. Obviously, I’m really proud of myself as well, considering, you know, my junior year was the first year that I did the FFA vet science stuff. I was mind blown. It was just really surreal.”
The season was a long and studious experience for the team, but also positive and enriching.
“[FFA] was always a place that I was excited to be in and work on,” Tjelmeland said. “It was overall a fantastic experience. I definitely want to keep doing this, for the rest of my life.”
