Each year during National FFA Week, our campus celebrates community members and staff who support the mission of the school and our local FFA chapter. This year’s Advocates Breakfast featured not just great food but also a chance to hear four outstanding supervised agricultural experience (SAE) presentations.
Blake Arias, a senior, talked about his diversified agriculture project, which included him branching out from his love of horticulture to competing in livestock shows as part of our goat show team.
“FFA is the foundation of our agriculture education,” Blake said. “It has played a vital role in my agriculture journey… I am lucky to serve our school, our (FFA) chapter as our sentinel, and I was fortunate to receive one of the SAE scholarships.”
In fact, the four student SAE presenters – Blake, Sara Corn, Savannah Griffin and Maura Berrera – all received $1,000 scholarships presented by one of our school’s most devoted supporters, Mr. Bob Edmonds. He funds the scholarships in part because of a life experience that taught him the value of mentors pouring into students’ lives.
“It’s fun. I really enjoy it,” Mr. Edmonds said. “In the era when I was the age of these young people, scholarships were almost unheard of. I had an English teacher who was determined that she was going to make me a preacher, and she tried her best to get me a scholarship to Wofford College. But she didn’t make it, so I didn’t become a preacher.”
Wearing the blue corduroy FFA jacket presented to him by the Governor’s School for Agriculture more than 70 years after he was a member, Mr. Edmonds joyfully celebrated the importance of the FFA to the high school experience and said being in the presence of our FFA student makes him feel younger than his 93 years.
“I went into the FFA when I was 13 in 1945. For a little while I go back,” he said. “The presentations were outstanding, and I really enjoyed them so much.”
The leadership development component of FFA is one of the keys to the experience, according presenter Savannah Griffin, who spoke about training her hunting dog.
“Being part of the FFA right now means just being a leader, leading your team and your chapter,” she said, adding that she was grateful for the scholarship. “I worked really hard with my SAE. My dog is a big part of my life…It was something new. I’ve always really loved animals, and I wanted to learn more about animal behavior. Since I do want to pursue a career in veterinary sciences, I wanted to try something new.”
For her presentation, Sara Corn focused on agricultural education and hosting two equine camps that gave her valuable experience toward her personal aspiration of becoming an ag teacher someday. She described the FFA as “never-ending with its opportunities” to grow and learn.
“It’s who I’ve become in agriculture,” Sara said. “It has given me the opportunity to participate in many endeavors agriculture has.”
Maura Berrera focused her SAE on agricultural communications, including her chance to serve as a reporter representing South Carolina at the National FFA Convention in Indianapolis.
“To me, to be part of the FFA is to be part of a giant family,” Maura said. “We all have one connection, and that is agriculture. It is the basis for all of our lives, and without it we couldn’t do much of anything…To be part of the FFA is to be part of a family that knows where our food comes from, where to work and where we can support each other.”