I remember walking into the ag room my freshman year, not knowing what I was getting myself into, but knowing that I was following in the footsteps of my great grandfather, father, brother and sister. I soon found myself getting very involved and thoroughly enjoyed being a part of something bigger than myself. In the first week of class, our teacher asked us to write down three goals for ourselves to accomplish by the end of our time in high school FFA, at the top of my list was “get my American degree.” When I turned in my goals, I knew I had set the bar high for myself and I had a lot of hard work ahead of me if I wanted to achieve this goal. Upon high school graduation, and transitioning to college, I knew the time had come to apply for my number one goal that I had set for myself as a freshman in high school. After submitting my application last December, I was anxious to know the status of it constantly. It was just this past August when I received an email from the National FFA, and in the subject line was American degree. I quickly stopped what I was doing to open the email and find my name on the list. As soon as I found it, I screenshotted the list, and sent it to my family. Although it may read my name on the degree, there were many other names that helped me achieve this honor. I feel an American degree is not an achievement for just the individual whose name printed on the degree, but rather an accomplishment for all that has helped them get to where they are now. With that, receiving my American degree was a big accomplishment for me, but I truly could not have done it without the help and support of my chapter, friends, agriscience instructors, and most certainly my family. Thank you to all who have helped and supported me along the way and congratulations to all who have achieved this high honor!
Lutz with her American Degree.