Blake Arias started his journey at the newly inaugurated South Carolina Governor’s School for Agriculture at John De La Howe in August 2022. He has spent the last three years of high school becoming the student and leader in agriculture that he is today.
When Arias first came to campus, he quickly introduced himself to all the students and staff. Later, he found himself in the school’s library with Jennifer Brown, who was instrumental in his journey. When asked what his Supervised Agricultural Experience would be, Brown suggested Arias try diversified horticulture.
From there, Arias started developing skills as he worked on a hydroponics system and the cycle of growing cool-season crops. He started with harvesting lettuce. His harvest was bountiful as he collected almost five pounds every week. His collection was shared in the cafeteria’s salad bar for students and faculty to enjoy.
Looking to take on more work, Arias took charge of assessing and preparing the greenhouse for the annual FFA plant sale last spring. His responsibilities for this portion were to ensure students working in the greenhouse were knowledgeable in repotting and caring for the plants, transporting them, and assisting Kaitlyn Rhodes, the horticulture teacher and FFA advisor, with any other tasks. This area of his SAE was successful as he gained new greenhouse management skills. The sale generated $22,000!
Arias is now showing goats as his senior-year SAE. He has already participated in two shows, and he is proud of the work he and his goat are putting in. He is glad he took on this new challenge.
