Rebecca Pitchford
English 101 Pre-Writing Essay December 11, 2015 My FFA Experience “The meeting room will come to order, we will now hold a meeting of the Chillicothe FFA Chapter, Madam Vice President, are all officers at their stations?” I then knew I wanted to be a part of the chapter officers that get to stand up there and lead the Chillicothe FFA Chapter. As I continued watching the rest of the meeting go on, all I could think about was, “I want to do that, I want to lead my peers in these games and make them feel welcome, I want to be known as an FFA officer.” Being a leader, public speaking, and visiting national cities have all been parts of my FFA journey. My first opportunity to become a leader in FFA was in April of 2013. I had to do my first interview, with no idea what to expect or even how to do an interview. Answering leadership questions in front of judges, under pressure, was never a quality I excelled in. I decided to overcome my fear, but I was a nervous wreck when that day came. Myself and the 15 other members had to wait until our chapter banquet in May to find out the results. That night, at the end of the banquet, the chapter officers called the new 2013-14 assistant officers, they called me. I was finally a part of the Chillicothe FFA officer team. Public speaking had always been one of my fears. My sophomore year I had the chance to write an eight minute speech over a variety of topics. I chose to write about soil & water. I had no idea what I was getting myself into with this speech. I ended up making it to area, districts, and then all the way to state. I was shocked that I made it all the way to state in a speech that I had tried for the very first time. At the end of my sophomore year, it was that time again in April that we had officer interviews, so yet again, I did another interview. I made it. I was officially a Chapter Officer. Becoming a chapter officer has allowed me to gain leadership skills and learn how to cooperate and work together with other officers. I was able to learn how important it was to take charge, be outgoing, compromise with other officers, please everyone, and take into consideration their ideas, and how to make every member in FFA feel welcome. My junior year I was voted to become the secretary for our FFA chapter for the year of 2015-16. I felt so honored to get awarded such a high position in the FFA. The FFA has awarded me with various leadership skills that I can use throughout my life. FFA has given me the privilege to go to various places in Missouri and throughout the United States. This past summer I had the opportunity to go with a group of kids from our chapter to Washington D.C. and attend the Washington Leadership Conference. I got to see the most important places in our nation and experience those monuments with FFA members all across the United States. The Chillicothe FFA group got to meet with Sam Graves, who is Missouri’s representative in Washington D.C. On the last day of the conference, we spend a morning packaging meals for the homeless in D.C. We packaged 63,936 meals in two hours. Witnessing this in person was life-changing. “I keep a record of all meeting and correspond with other secretaries, wherever corn is grown and FFA members meet.” This is the part I get to say with my officer team just as I wished my freshman year. FFA has taught me many valuable lessons that I will be able to take with me throughout my life and use in my career, as well as teach other kids and my children when that time comes. Being a leader, public speaking, and witnessing national cities are all qualities and experiences that will be with me for a lifetime. |