By LEAH MOORMAN
Sheridan High School Student
Editor’s Note: The Sheridan Student Column is brought to readers by Sheridan High School’s 10th grade English class, taught by Abigayle Williams.
My favorite chapter doesn’t exist inside of a novel. Rather, my favorite chapter is the Sheridan FFA. Through FFA, I’ve found my passion for helping others. I discovered my love for writing and research because of FFA as well. Through the organization, I have developed a plethora of skills, ranging from Parliamentary Procedure to tree identification and grain grading. FFA has helped me grow as a person in so many ways. Not only has my involvement with FFA given me the skills to succeed in the future with my career and education, but I have also learned how to step out of my comfort zone. Without FFA, I never would have made friends from across the nation, like the kids I met from South Dakota and Washington. I’ve made my closest friends through FFA. My chapter is my second family.
FFA isn’t just for farm kids. Members do a whole lot more than judge livestock and farm, though many people don’t see that. Many people believe that FFA simply stands for Future Farmers of America. In reality, the name was changed to the National FFA Association before 2000. The name change accentuates the fact that FFA isn’t just for farmers or people who live in the country. FFA teaches people to be self-sufficient and responsible and allows for their growth into the leaders of tomorrow’s world. Joe Martin from the Indiana FFA Association, a man whom I have had the pleasure of meeting on multiple occasions, puts it this way: “The organization has grown to be more than cows, sows, and plows; the modern FFA is about beakers, speakers, and job seekers.” FFA is about agriculture, science, mechanics, career readiness, leadership and the future of America.
I started FFA in the sixth grade, through my school’s junior chapter. That year I had the pleasure of serving as Vice President. I served as the junior chapter President my seventh-grade year and was re-elected as President my eighth-grade year. I was not an officer during my freshman year, because first-year members of my high school’s FFA can’t be officers. It gives first-years a chance to get their roots set in the organization and use the year as a learning experience before taking on a leadership position. In the spring of my freshman year, I ran for 2018-2019 Treasurer, where I serve currently (we elect officers in the spring to serve for the next year’s term). In the spring of 2019 I am going to run for district Secretary and chapter Vice President.
The first time I wore an FFA jacket, I was trying on my dad’s. I probably looked like a child playing dress up, but I knew that one day I would get my own, and I would make a name for myself within the organization. It is a dream of mine to serve as a state officer and eventually make it to the national officer team. The first time I wore my own jacket, I immediately felt right at home. I knew at once that I was born to wear that jacket. It is one of my most prized possessions. I know that I will always have the friends I’ve made from FFA, who are now like my second family.
My favorite FFA memory is getting to go to National Convention my freshman year. Anyone who has been in Indianapolis during Convention week knows what I’m talking about when I say there are blue jackets EVERYWHERE. I had heard and seen where people say there’s nothing like seeing the “sea of blue” for the first time. I had always thought that was an exaggeration. It is not. I will never forget how I felt when I went to National Convention for the first time. I was mesmerized when I got off the bus and walked from the Convention Center to Bankers Life Fieldhouse and all I could see were kids, just like me, wearing the blue corduroy jacket of the FFA. There were over 60,000 FFA members and advisors gathered in Indiana, all of us together and united through one organization. Whether the member is from Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Alaska, Texas, or Maine, we were all together wearing the same jacket, a symbol of unity and respect. All of us come from different backgrounds, but when we put on that jacket, we are brothers and sisters, friends and family, and we have each other’s backs and support each other.
FFA has become my passion. I’m so thankful that I joined the organization and that I can serve an active role in my chapter. The Sheridan FFA has become my second family over the years, and for that, I am extremely grateful. The experiences and skills I have gained through FFA are irreplaceable. In years to come, my blue corduroy jacket may become too small for me to wear, but I will never forget the memories I have made through the wonderful organization.