The Best Job Ever

    Chicago: home of the Cubs, the SkyDeck, and deep dish pizza.  If you’ve never been, Chicago is a pretty cool city and is home to some unique sights and foods.  Chicago is also home to a high school unlike anything I have ever seen.  I was lucky enough to experience said high school this past week through my position as the National Teach Ag Campaign intern as we celebrated National Teach Ag Day.

    The Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences (CHSAS) is nothing short of amazing.  As you might be able to guess, it’s an inner city school where students focus on different pathways within agriculture.  While this is amazing in itself, here’s a few more fun facts that make it even more incredible. 
            - In order for students to come to CHSAS, they have to apply and been on the lucky side of a lottery drawing.  There is no designated school district, or area, that students have to be from, so they come from all over the city; some students even ride the city bus for two hours to get to school in the morning.

            - Students enroll in pathways, or focus areas, that they’ll study in depth their junior and senior year.  During freshman and sophomore year, they get a taste of each pathway, decide what they like, then have to apply and interview for the pathway they would like at the end of their sophomore year.  Some of the pathways include biotechnology, food science, horticulture, animal science, and agribusiness.

            - They have livestock at the school! (Now I know there are plenty of schools here in Iowa that also have livestock, but remember, this school is in the middle of Chicago).  Chickens, hogs, horses, and goats are just a few of the animals that are a part of the animal science pathway.

            - The produce that the students raise, like sweetcorn, tomatoes and squash, is sold at the school.  There’s a little farmers’ market-like set up where anyone from the public can come in and purchase food from the students.

These and many more unique parts of CHSAS caused me to be in awe pretty much the entire day I was at the school.  While this school is incredible in its own way, it reminded me why I wanted to be an agriculture teacher.  Whether the school is in the heart of a city or in the middle of a corn field, students are learning through hands-on experiences, exploring potential careers, and becoming the leaders our world so desperately needs.  I was reminded how bright and driven agricultural education students are; how no two programs are the same and that’s what makes the ag ed community so strong. 

     If everything you just learned about CHSAS excites you, look into a future as an agriculture teacher. If you like the thought of having a meaningful career while still living in a rural community, consider teaching ag.  If you want to be challenged every day and never stop learning, agricultural education is the right career for you.  The best part about being an agriculture teacher is you can do all that, and more.  Check out www.naae.org/teachag to learn more about your future career and why it really is the best job ever.

Elisa Russ 

Past State President

National Teach Ag Campaign Intern

FFA is my Passion, FFA is my Happiness

As much as we focus on accomplishments in life, I’ve learned that much of what is truly accomplishing, is happiness. My happiness lies within my passion. My passion lies within the FFA Organization.

My name is Kennedy Plowman and I am beginning my second year at Iowa State University. I have found a home away from home living in Ames taking part in new adventures while meeting some of the greatest people I’ve ever been blessed to become friends with. What made this place a home for me was the friendships, opportunities, and life lessons I learned from the FFA Organization.

Situation one, my freshman roommate: During my active time with the FFA Organization I was fortunate enough to serve as a Southwest District officer for two consecutive years. Leading our district and meeting very talented and compelling individuals throughout the state of Iowa was nothing short of a wonderful experience. One particular individual I met was named Lexie Kliegl. She was a South Central District officer from the Earlham FFA Chapter. Upon searching for a roommate on the Iowa State Facebook page, I noticed she too would be attending Iowa State. Recognizing a name out of the thousands of students was a relief. I messaged her and within two minutes of a texting conversation we decided we would be roommates. Larch 4306 had no idea what it was getting itself into, and neither did I. FFA introduces and creates lifelong friendships. Lexie was my backbone, spirit animal, new best friend, and all around best part of my freshman year at Iowa State. My passion for the organization brought me one of the greatest friendships I am so lucky to have.

Situation two, career readiness: I just completed my summer internship with the Iowa State Fair Blue Ribbon Foundation. Upon coming across this opportunity on a job board, I sent in my application and landed an interview. Thankfully, I competed in job interview at FFA district and state contests, so I was confident going in to that interview. I knew what to expect, how to respond, and overall I knew my values. I received a phone call a few weeks later and was offered the position. Accepting the position was the best decision I ever made. I had the best summer of my life, made three new best friends who were also interns, and learned more than you ever can in a classroom. FFA built my framework for which I was able to continue to build my skills on at the Blue Ribbon Foundation. My passion for the organization made this possible.

Situation three, happiness: I give it all to the FFA organization for all that I have become. Without it, I would not have found my passion. That passion has brought true happiness. Whether that be landing that job you want so badly or making a lifelong best friend, FFA is bound to bring you what you consider to be happiness.

It’s not always all about sows, cows, and plows. It’s about a passion that truly will bring you happiness. FFA is my passion, FFA is my happiness.

Kennedy Plowman

Past District Officer

Keys to a Happy School Year

Summer is officially drawing to close, and as we all rush off to school it seems as if our schedules get fuller and fuller with each day. Whether it’s with FFA, your job, your sports, band, student council, homecoming, homework, or even just hanging out with friends and family, it can be quite stressful to even take a look at our calendars. As someone who was involved in just about everything you can be for my whole life, trust me it’s crazy. It can even get to be a little overwhelming sometimes.

            While our calendars can be a little overwhelming, there are some ways that we can ensure we’re living our best lives. While I’m no expert, I’ve definitely had to try on a few different ways to fight stress in my hectic schedule. So without further ado, here are 5 quick tips I use to be combat stress!

      1.)   Wake Up to your Alarm

This might seem like a no-brainer, but it is an easy way to start your day off on the right foot. Often times, I’ll set roughly 4 alarms in the hopes that I’ll wake up in time to get ready. For those of you that are doing this, it gets pretty stressful and you can feel like you’re constantly late. Another common problem with alarms is the snooze feature, where you may snooze to the point that which you’re running out the door and trying to brush your teeth while putting your pants on and grabbing a granola bar for breakfast.

Late and stressed? That’s certainly not the best start to your day.

Instead, actually get up when your alarm tells you to. I know, it can be pretty hard the first few days, but trust me it helps. You have the right amount of time to make sure that your hair is on point, you have a healthy breakfast, you are on the road right on time, and overall you just feel better and have a great start to your day!

2   2.)   Schedule Free Time

Often times, we continuously are adding in things to our schedule. We just keep adding and adding until we eventually don’t have any time to even eat. Trust me, it’s not fun. I had gotten to a point where I would get done at work at about 11 and then work on homework and other things until about 2am, then wake up at 6 and start all over again. If you ask my mom, it got pretty stressful.

            A quick way that you can make sure you’re keeping your sanity during a busy schedule is to schedule in free time. Maybe set out that every Tuesday night you have Netflix time from 6-8pm and Thursday nights you have an hour blocked out to just hang out with your family, anything that you need works. This way, you know that you have a set time each week that you can relax, but also know when it’s time to say no to something so you’re not overbooking yourself.

3   3.)   Find a Stress Outlet

Everyone deals with stress differently; you just have to find a way that works for you! These can be things like reading a good book, jamming out to your favorite music, going out to the barn and doing chores, hanging out with friends, exercising, even cleaning! Just try some things out and you’ll figure out what works best! One of the ways I best handle stress is just talking it over with someone. I’ll call up my mom or meet a friend for coffee and just decompress. There are plenty of different ways to relieve stress, just make sure it works for you!

4   4.)   Be Healthy

This one is a little easier said than done. As someone who gets sick often (ask any of my teammates or friends and family, it’s pretty often), I often find myself stressed out by the simple fact that I can’t perform at the level I would like. Take for example this past week: I got a sinus infection while I was at a conference and as the school year was kicking off. It definitely has put me behind from where I would have liked to have been in some of my work, and it could have been a lessened burden or even non-existent had I been living a healthier lifestyle. I’m not saying you should stop eating pizza or fast food altogether and pick up a raw carrot, because trust me I could eat a whole Casey’s Breakfast Pizza by myself. What I’m saying is take every now and then to eat in moderation, go for a quick run, or drink water instead of pop once in a while. The less sick you are and the more healthy choices you make, the happier you are.

5    5.)   Be Happy

      Sounds simple, right? You can just choose to be happy. If you are making a conscious effort to be happier, odds are you probably will be. Take some of the less important inconveniences with a grain of salt and focus on big picture happiness. This will bring you one step closer to leading a happier life.

I’m no expert in living a stress-free life. It’s something that doesn’t just magically happen. In the fast paced society that we live in today there will always be a slight sense of panic and an overwhelming feeling. However, we have the choice to make the most of it and lead a happy life anyway.

Zach Hamilton

State President