Throwback Thursday: Celebrating FFA Week with Memories

Like thousands of youth across the nation, I was a member of FFA in middle and high school. This week students, teachers, and alumni around the country are sharing their experiences during FFA week. I couldn't help but dig out some old photos and remember the highlights of my high school days. 

One year I participated in Agronomy contest through FFA. It was another one of those early mornings and school van rides, but I learned a lot. I was lucky enough to place individually after identifying seeds, weeds and more.

The Columbus FFA chapter held an annual Cotter Clean Up where we'd pick up junk from a neighboring town. It was always an all hands on deck event. 

This picture is from the first or second year I participated in soils judging contest. Over my high school career, soils judging created many opportunities to learn and travel.

A couple classmates and I earned our Chapter FFA Degree in this photo from our annual banquet.

To cover the costs of our travel to national soils judging contests in Oklahoma, my teammates and I applied for a grant. We were fortunate to be selected for some funding. Here is my FFA advisor and mentor, Katie McWhirter and at the grant awards ceremony.

When out team traveled to Oklahoma, we took a little bit of time to explore the area. We found an old grain elevator that was converted into a climbing facility. I wasn't very good, but it was sure fun trying to climb to the top!

While in Oklahoma, we also visited the stockyards. At that point in my life, I hadn't had much exposure to livestock, so it was a great learning experience. Walking the catwalks and sitting in on the auction were my favorite parts.

The national soils judging award ceremony was at this museum in Oklahoma. Before the event, we enjoyed taking pictures with the cowboy figurines and western town replicas as we learned about the culture and history of the state.

Thanks for reading! I'd love to hear about your FFA experiences in the comments!