Bryce Bennett, How FFA Influenced My Major
Growing up, I have always been deeply involved in agriculture. My family milked Jersey cattle through a large portion of my childhood, and because my family is so involved in agriculture, I spent the most influential years of my life being exposed to agriculture. Not only does my dad help on the family farm, he also serves as the ag teacher for my school – meaning that I grew up deeply involved in FFA. Some of my earliest memories are going out to the farm and going to SAE home visits.
With my early background and experience in FFA and agriculture, I was beyond excited to go into my 8th grade year knowing that I could join our ag program. After I joined, I never looked back – competing at all levels of most competitions, from local to national levels and placing in all of them. I have had a very successful FFA career, allowing me to compete at Nationals for two different events: Poultry Evaluation CDE and Poultry Production Proficiency, where I placed in the top 4 for both. I also was extremely active in my FFA Chapter, serving as student advisor and land lab manager, as well as chapter president. After graduating high school and leaving FFA, I decided that I could not just leave it behind me, so I decided that I was going to pursue a career in it.
My life has led me down multiple paths, from growing up on a dairy farm to raising chickens and turkeys, both leading me to find FFA. Once I joined FFA, my paths went in even more directions, from going to State and National Conventions, to going to Leadership Nights and a trip to Atlanta, Georgia. Being part of FFA tied agriculture to my roots, and there is no way that I could leave such an influential and crucial part of my life behind. FFA has taken my life to new heights, and it helped me decide that I will pursue a career that will return the favor and hopefully take FFA to new heights.