Staying Connected: My Journey as a NC FFA State Officer and the Power of FFA Beyond Graduation

Thursday, June 27th, 2024, marked the start of an exciting new chapter in my life. After being elected to the 2024-2025 North Carolina FFA State Officer team, I was juggling multiple transitions: moving away from home, starting my sophomore year of college, starting at a new university, and stepping into my role as a State Officer. The summer felt like a whirlwind. A time where I felt as if my life and I were constantly changing.

But throughout all these changes, one constant remained—FFA. 

In high school, FFA became my community. FFA gave me a sense of belonging, and for many, it has the same impact. 

FFA felt like home.

However, as graduation passes and college life eventually takes over, it’s easy to lose touch with FFA. The excitement of State Convention, local events, and CDE’s/LDE’s often fades as new priorities enter to be center stage and in the spotlight of our lives. But what many students don’t realize is that they can still be involved and play a vital role in the organization.

Now I am aware that my experience is different from the average college student and FFA alumni member, but that difference is exactly why I believe it is important for college students to still stay connected, and I believe it is my job to help in that endeavor. 

With all of that being said– What big moments did NC FFA have in 2024?

Record Breaking Membership Numbers

At the 95th North Carolina FFA State Convention, which is held annually in the heart of the state’s capital here in Raleigh, it was announced that the North Carolina FFA Association has reached a record high in membership with 48,154 members spread across the state.  The state has much to celebrate with a record high in membership of over 48,000 members along with over 600 agriculture teachers. North Carolina has doubled in FFA members over the past five years, and we are now the fifth-largest FFA association in the nation! We are not far behind states such as Georgia, California, Florida, and Texas! (In no specific order) We can only expect that our numbers will continue to increase in the coming years as student involvement increases, as well as the number of chapters across the state!

Relief for Western North Carolina after Hurricane Helene 

After the devasting events that the Western part of North Carolina faced after the hard hit from Hurricane Helene, many FFA chapters across the state stepped up to help their Western neighbors.  Chapters from across the state came together to find ways to support the West after this tragedy. Chapters like Bear Grass Charter created t-shirts to sell and fundraise money to send to Western NC for hurricane relief, while chapters such as Southern Guilford used their annual toy drive to collect toys for the children impacted by Hurricane Helene in Hot Springs, North Carolina. Many other chapters across NC found ways to support the West after Helene, whether that was by fundraising, community service, or advocacy. The continued and constant support from other chapters across the state has touched lives all over Western NC and showed the strong connection that FFA creates for students, including one of our own, our current North Carolina FFA State Vice President, Alanna Greene, who is a Madison County and Hot Springs native. What impacts one of us will impact all of us.

Larry Wooten Rural Leadership Award

What makes NCFFA so amazing is the large number of students who come together and put in the work to give back to their communities. On Tuesday, December 3rd, the North Carolina FFA association had the great honor of receiving the 2024 Larry Wooten Rural Leadership Award. This award was presented at the North Carolina State Capitol Building during a reception hosted by Governor Cooper. This award honors and showcases the exceptional work that individuals and organizations do and the contributions that they provide to rural communities in North Carolina. Not only was the North Carolina FFA Association recognized, but so was a former agriculture teacher from South Rowan High School, Mr. Bruce Miller, as well as the Southern Alamance High School FFA chapter for the impacts that agricultural education has and how FFA can set students up to do amazing things within their communities. NCFFA and agricultural education have and will continue to set students up for bright and successful futures that will help benefit themselves as well as their communities.

North Carolina has experienced a great deal this past year. We have seen the true impact that FFA has on the lives of students as well as the communities that these students come from. From the mountains to the coast, FFA allows students to stay connected. From our record high in membership, to coming together during a time of tragedy, to celebrating a great achievement, FFA members have continued to support each other. FFA has left a lasting impact on the lives of students since 1928 and will continue to do so.

I can still remember the time that my father, a former FFA member, was able to recite the creed to me, and the stories he shared about his time as a member. His experiences have continued through me, just as his fathers did through him.

That support and connection might seem like it ended after we turned our tassel at graduation and hung up our blue jackets, but it doesn’t have to end there. There are still so many ways we can continue to be involved and continue to build those connections. We can become involved through collegiate FFA chapters, local Alumni chapters, helping with FFA events, or giving back to our home chapters. Continuing to stay involved through areas such as alumni, social media, and events helps to continue the legacy.

Let’s challenge ourselves to come back home to our FFA family.