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Ag Education grad commits to making a positive difference in students’ lives By Kelsey Litchfield
“She’s been in our shoes.”
That’s how Joseph Birrittier, at the time Illinois State FFA president, introduced Mindy Bunselmeyer during the 90th Illinois FFA State Convention in June. She has walked the convention stage as an agricultural education student, an FFA member, an agricultural education teacher, a facilitator, and now as the executive director of Illinois FFA. “Illinois FFA was an organization that I wanted to give back to. When I was a state officer, I wanted to do great things for others as leaders in FFA had done for me. I always hoped that someday I would end up back here to complete the circle,” Bunselmeyer says. To work toward this goal, Bunselmeyer attended a university that gave her more than a quality education. “I wanted the opportunities of a big campus and as much diversity as possible,” she says. “Being a part of the College of ACES, you could still have that family, that tight-knit group, but being in the big pond of the University of Illinois pushed you to grow.” Bunselmeyer decided to major in agricultural education because of her positive experiences in high school. “I had a great ag teacher and a world of opportunities in FFA,” she says. “That drove me to go to the U of I and teach agriculture like he did.”
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