FFA/4H SPOTLIGHT

Westmoore Senior on Why FFA is Such a Great Activity

Scroggins Animal Hospital 1259 S Eastern, Moore (405) 895-6638 scrogginsanimalhospital.com

What is FFA? While most people could tell you it stands for Future Farmers of America, there’s a lot more to the organization than might be expected. Especially for the high school students who participate.

For starters, it’s not just about life on the farm. FFA is also for those who wish to be business owners, doctors, scientists, teachers, and more. It has been a way for students to connect outside of their regular high school classes. FFA’s primary goal for high school students is to teach premier leadership, personal growth, and career success.

Westmoore senior Mali Sparks has only been a part of FFA for one year. She says she regrets getting such a late start with the group.

“I wish I had started sooner,” Sparks said.

Sparks joined the club because she loves animals, and she had friends who went to different schools join.

“I always go to the barn and showings with them,” said Sparks. “They just make it so much more fun.”

Her favorite thing about FFA has been meeting new people and learning more about the animals. She will soon start being at the barn and showing off her own livestock.

“A normal day in FFA is pretty calm,” said Sparks. “We usually do an assignment about livestock to learn more about them. If you show livestock, you have to go to the pig barn about 2-3 times a day to feed and walk your animal and then clean up its pen.”

As a part of an assignment, the students had to paint pumpkins as pigs for the fair. They let their imaginations go and painted the pumpkins however they wanted. Sparks took this assignment and made a fantastic flying pink pig that got 6th place overall at the fair.

“It took me a week to make the pumpkin that I decorated as a flying pig,” said Sparks. “It was a little early to get pumpkins when the fair was going on, but I managed to find one and decorate on time.”

Sparks says she has gained so much from her experience in FFA, especially learning how to become a great leader and an even better friend.

“FFA has helped me build my leadership by improving my social skills,” said Sparks. “Before I joined the program, I was shy. Now, I am not afraid to talk to or in front of people.”

Sparks wants to be a teacher, and by joining this program, she says it, has helped her learn how to become a great leader and how to take greater responsibility for other things in life.