Despite standing up for perseverance, leadership and personal growth, many students in the Future Farmers of America (FFA) program on campus feel under-appreciated by the student body and community. With a focus on career success through agricultural education, the non-profit organization has profound implications on the life-paths of students involved and shapes tomorrow’s leaders. Seniors Yahya Abdalla and Jack Oehler are passionate about providing FFA recognition on campus.
“Personally, I feel like the FFA program is very underrated at our school,” Oehler said. “The only real reason that I feel the program is still alive is because of the four Agriculture teachers and the amount of effort they put in for it.”
Oehler competed on the state team in entomology last year. While sponsors Joe Lemmons, Magan Escamilla, Shannon Tidwell, and Wade Albert work to provide awareness for the various activities that the organization provides, many students found out about the program through other ways.
“I found out about it because my girlfriend and her friends were a part of it and they told me I should join,” Abdalla said. “I didn’t know what to expect because I hadn’t heard of it before.”
The program specializes in agricultural education specifically, although it also provides its members with opportunities to build life skills as well.
“[FFA] helps [students] develop their leadership skills and to get a sense of responsibility, record keeping and constructing projects” Albert said. “[It] teaches them how to plan and budget their time”
Last year, the veterinary science team finished third in the nation and had the national champion individual. They also won the 2024 state competition, again with the state champion individual. Students this year are determined to honor their exceptional performance with hard work and setting goals to excel specifically in individual competitions.
“Our senior body last year was composed of some very gifted students, and now we hope to continue our legacy as a competitive force in spite of their absence,” Oehler said.
“My entomology team had three seniors who had been representing Vandegrift for a couple years and now that they are gone I will be putting in the extra effort to reflect their determination in my own scores.”
Although the program is already widely known among the district, many students feel as though its importance and utility should be vocalized more at Vandegrift specifically.
“Our school got three teams sent to state leadership development events and no one in our school [had] gone to state in at least three years,” Abdalla said.
Abdalla and his team placed first on his team at the state competition in the energy and natural resources category last year.
“I believe FFA is taken very seriously at other schools in the district but here it’s not given the complete recognition it deserves” Abdalla said.
Abdalla also mentions how more recognition from the school would significantly help with increasing members, support, and donations, which are a large part of the institution’s funding.
“Other schools in the district advocate more for the importance of the program and spread the word about [the program] better,” Abdalla said.
Abdalla and Oehler are advocates for FFA and are enthusiastic about promoting awareness to the program and the opportunities that it provides. This includes career exploration, the development of leadership skills, knowledge of healthy living, and even scholarships and internships.
“FFA makes me feel like I have more opportunities to be connected to students who share my interests,”Abdalla said. “It really is such an important addition to our school because it gives students opportunities to have hands-on experience in fields that they might not even think of or know about.”
