FFA interest increasing across the county

FFA interest increasing across county

By PHILLIP B. HUBBARD

phubbard@covnews.com

According to local FFA chapter advisors, popularity has grown among their respective chapters with seemingly more interest from students each school year.

Newton and Eastside high schools as well as the Newton College and Career Academy (NCCA) have seen considerable growth in their FFA chapters in recent years.

NCCA Chapter

Cecily Gunter is the NCCA chapter advisor and teaches Basic Agriculture, Animal Science and Biotechnology, Veterinary Science, Animal Production and Small Animal Care. She’s been the chapter’s advisor for five years now and, since then, the organization has added another advisor, Andrew Pollard and a Young Farmer instructor named Marcus Pollard.

Instructors have been added, according to Gunter, because of the membership increase in recent years.

“We have definitely grown in size,” Gunter said. “So much so that we had to add another teacher. We also have qualified for state contests and have been recognized on the national level. Our chapter is one of the top chapters in the nation. We also had the National FFA President for 2021 come from our chapter. I cannot say it enough, we have great kids.”

But watching the overall growth of the program isn’t what excites Gunter the most about being an FFA advisor. It’s watching each student develop his or her own self. “The best part of being an FFA advisor is seeing my students grow as leaders and achieve their goals,” Dr. Gunter said. “It is so rewarding to hear from students after they graduate and see how successful they have become; whether that be in college or in the workforce, these kids are making big moves.”

NHS Chapter

Alexandria Walker is the advisor for Newton High School’s FFA chapter where she has served for five years. She also teaches five classes: Basic Agriculture, Horticulture, Plant Science, Floral Design and Nursery Landscape. Throughout the past five years, Walker has witnessed firsthand students explore numerous opportunities.

That, to her, is the top thing about being an FFA advisor.

“The best part about being an advisor is seeing students have new experiences,” Walker said. “With this organization, there are a lot of trips. I’m able to take kids out of the state who have never been past Covington. Students also meet new people. Particularly going to the National Convention, there are chapters from Hawaii and Puerto Rico. Those experiences impact their future. I’ve had several students come back and say, ‘if I wasn’t in FFA, this, this and this wouldn’t have happened for me.’ So that’s a huge part for me.”

Walker labeled the 2021-22 school year as a “rebuild year” for her chapter by still dealing with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Nevertheless, currently standing at 155 members, the NHS chapter has experienced an increase in interest among the student body.

“The level of participation has grown,” Walker said. “I’m the teacher that’s going to bring these oddball things to get your attention and be like, ‘now I got your attention.’ So, we’ve been growing by word of mouth, especially with the officers being my spokespeople. Then, we’re able to show them what they do and get students engaged with all of the possibilities.”

EHS Chapter

Eastside’s FFA chapter has the largest membership in the school with 210 members. Heading up the organization are two advisors: Catrina Pollard and Sarah Beth Hammond. Both teachers oversee the program as well as teach the classes in the Agricultural Pathway.

Across the classes and the chapter, the advisors have stressed how they are “busting at the seams” to find space to have students participating in multiple projects and activities.

“Some students sit on the counters, I have stools and some will sit on the floor. Not that I don’t have enough tables and chairs, but for them to have room to spread out from each other,” Pollard said. “All of our classes are full and it’s a good problem to have. Eight years ago, I only had one class with 28 kids, not all of my classes always consistently have more than 28 kids.”

Pollard took over the chapter eight years ago — Hammond’s senior year of high school at Eastside.

With her perspective changing from student to advisor, Hammond stressed how much interest has piqued among the student body compared to her days as a student.

“It’s really cool to see,” Hammond said. “Social media has been interesting, too. Because I had a kid walk up to me the other day who saw our Instagram page and asked, ‘how do I get in this class?’ I feel like it has grown a lot.”

Eastside High School students pose with their FFA jackets. Interest in the agriculture-based program is taking off across Newton.

Special Photo