Statement Of Purpose: FFA Officer

In the spring of 2017, I took a huge risk and ran for an Greenbrier FFA officer position. After extensive interviewing and campaigning, I was elected as vice president of our FFA chapter. Acting in this position has allowed me to gain experience and take opportunities that I would that I would have not received otherwise, and the road to this new attribute in my life is what forever has changed my character and what defines me as a person. From Parliamentary Procedure, to speaking to Jr. High students and traveling to our nation's capital, all of these opportunities have allowed me to practice my effective communication and gain a skill that is essential in the real world, personally and professionally. But none of this would have been possible

I was urged by my ag teacher to tryout for the opening and closing ceremonies team, which was the contest for the presentation of the official FFA ceremonies. This is where I found my passion for public speaking and communications and I was hooked from there. During my first years in high school, I competed on the Parliamentary Procedure team where I learned the art and performed in front of countless groups of people, something that tooks months of practicing and countless nights of reading over motions and coming up with debates. This not only perfected my speaking skills, but also taught me something that will be useful in any career path that I may choose, and it all started in that 9th grade agriculture class when I took a major step into something I had feared my whole life. Speaking wasn't always something I had placed importance on, but after seeing what young people could portray themselves as when they learned to communicate effectively in front of crowds, it truly inspired my way of thinking and opened my mind to new things, and I'm glad it did. My passion for FFA and the opportunities it has blessed me with have paved the way for me to get out of my comfort zone and try out new things like Parliamentary Procedure or running for FFA office. These are things that have greatly benefited and changed the past few years into creating new opportunities for me and have also

Last spring when I competed on the land judging team, I set up practices for my team and I so we were better prepared when it came to our big contests, like district and state. When I woke up on the morning of the state championship, I walked outside to find my vehicle broken into and all my luggage nowhere to be found. I went to the contest that day more infuriated than I had ever been. I competed later that afternoon and judged to the best of my ability even though I had other things crossing my mind. We waited the following day for the results to be posted. It felt like ages, but in reality, it was only one day. I looked over the placings to find myself at the top as the individual state champion for Arkansas in 2017. I had done exceptionally better than I had expected from the previous day. This was a great accomplishment, but I learned something more important about myself other than that I was a champion land judger. I knew at that point that I was able to handle something of great importance while being preoccupied with something that I had no control over. When I say the vice presidents part in the official FFA opening ceremonies, “Without labor, neither knowledge nor wisdom can accomplish much” I think to myself