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Discovering a Passion By Harrison Glaeser
Arkansas FFA State President Josie Kelly found her passion for agriculture When it comes to FFA, few students are as invested of membership, I tried my hardest in all of my career develin the 93-year-old youth organization as Josie Kelly of opment and leadership development contests and eventually Mountain Home, Ark. made it to where I am today with the help of the people I Josie is the Arkansas FFA State President and an agricultur- surrounded myself with.” al education and crop science double major at University of Three years of hard work and dedication ultimately led Josie Arkansas’ Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and to her current station as the president of Arkansas’ FFA assoLife Sciences. She is a recent graduate of Mountain Home ciation, a role that keeps her busy even as she begins her colHigh School. lege career. As state president, Josie corresponds with youth Though she grew up around rodeos and even spent time around the state, acting as a mentor for students’ own jouron her family farm in Gainesville, Mo., Josie neys through the FFA program. didn’t discover her passion for agriculture “I, along with my team of five, interact with until she joined her high schools’ FFA FFA members around the state, giving chapter, citing her sister as a source them opportunities to develop their of inspiration. leadership skills and helping them “My older sister was a huge develop their service orientation. role model for me,” Josie exWe help them become active plained. “She got into FFA with agriculture and equip when she was in high them to advocate for it.” school, which made me As a college student, Josie want to step into it. As is passionate about both soon as I did, I not only agricultural education and fell in love with showing crop science, which has inlivestock but with agrispired her to pursue a douculture as a whole. It’s ble major in both degree so diverse, and there’s tracks for her undergradusomething for everyate years at the University body. You might see of Arkansas. somebody who doesn’t “U of A has an amazing quite fit the stereotype of a agriculture department. farmer or an agriculturalist, Being in FFA, I knew from but everyone involved with when I joined and when I FFA has a passion for the agstarted getting more involved ricultural industry, which I think that I wanted to major in someis really cool.” thing involving agriculture. It started Her sophomore year of high school, with crop science, but as I progressed Josie was given the opportunity to attend through FFA, I thought that education was the National FFA Convention in Indianapoactually what I wanted to do.” Submitted Photo lis, Ind., an event that proved pivotal to her decision In the future, with both degrees under her belt, to pursue agricultural science as a profession. Josie wants to end up teaching agricultural science “When I went, there was a sea of blue corduroy to Arkansas students, with an emphasis on crops. Mountain jackets from all over the states. You would go to “When I’m an agricultural educator, I would like Home, Ark. the convention sessions and see the national ofto teach plant systems, though I would be equipped ficers on the stage giving examples of what leadto teach all aspects of agricultural science” ership looks like. It was really inspiring. I decided Josie will serve as Arkansas FFA president until at the convention that leadership was something April 2022. She is in the University of Arkansas’ class I wanted to pursue, so throughout my three years of 2025. OCTOBER 11, 2021
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