Agricultural education is about more than agriculture. Through classes, career and leadership development events and supervised agricultural experiences, national conventions and industry visits, FFA members gain experiences in science, business, technology, leadership and public speaking.
The skills and experiences developed through FFA prepare members for a wide range of careers, including farming, agribusiness, education, aerospace, health care and politics.
Meet five past national officers who pursued different career paths but have one thing in common: FFA prepared them for success.
DeShawn L. Blanding
Legislative Assistant, U.S. House of Representatives
DeShawn L. Blanding grew up in Manning, S.C., a rural community where his family has lived since enslavement. His grandfather was a third-generation farmer who struggled to access credit and government programs, and Blanding realized there were few people in Washington, D.C., devoted to fighting for rural communities of color.
“As a 2016-17 nationalFFA officer, I was drawn to advocacy as we spent a third of our year as champions for agriculture and ag education,” he says. “I decided to bring our voices to the table and work to remove systemic barriers and increase access to resources.”
The Manning FFA alumnus graduated from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University with a degree in agriculture and environmental systems, and he earned a master’s degree in public policy from George Washington University. In 2020, Blanding began his career in advocacy.
In his current role as a legislative assistant with the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Agriculture, Blanding advises the chairperson, plans public hearings, drafts new legislation and monitors the progress of current federal programs and policies. The skills he learned in FFA, including building authentic relationships, becoming an effective communicator and living to serve, have been key in his career.
“A large part of our job is to understand the issues of constituents, farmers, consumers and rural communities by meeting with advocates,” he says. “My job allows me to think creatively about how we make our society better, and I get to make a difference in the lives of others by hearing their needs and thinking of new policy ideas to improve their situation.”
Abbey Gretsch
Territory Manager, Corteva Agriscience
Abbey Gretsch competed in the agricultural communications career development event as a member of Athens Christian FFA in Georgia, and she loved the idea of interacting with farmers and being the voice of agriculture.
It wasn’t until she visited the University of Georgia booth at the National FFA Convention & Expo that Gretsch learned it was possible to major in agricultural communications — and it proved to be the perfect fit.
“Once I got into my classes at UGA, I realized there were a variety of things I could do from graphic design to news articles,” she recalls.
The major took Gretsch in a different direction. She completed an internship in the marketing department of the turf and ornamental division at Corteva Agriscience and accepted a full-time role in sales for the urban pest division.
Gretsch first learned about Corteva Agriscience through FFA. In addition to recognizing its name as a corporate partner, Gretsch visited the international agriscience company on an industry tour when she served as a 2015-16 national officer.
“Corteva is a huge agriculture company and its culture is one of a kind,” she says.
Gretsch has lived and worked in Nashville, Tenn., and Statham, Ga., developing advertising strategies, and digital, text and email campaigns for pest control companies. Her background in agricultural communications ensures that messaging is effective, and the public-speaking skills she gained in FFA help with customer interactions.
“I love the interactions with customers, and feel like I get to be boots on the ground to help them on a local level,” she says. “FFA 1,000 percent prepared me for this role.”
Gracie Furnish Reynolds
Agricultural Education Teacher and FFA Advisor
Gracie Furnish Reynolds grew up in a family of educators. Her mom, grandmother and great-grandmother were all teachers, and Reynolds knew she wanted to follow in their footsteps.
“I knew I loved education and wanted to be engaged in agriculture,” she says. “Agricultural education had such a huge impact on my life.”
Reynolds served as a 2017-18 national officer. After graduating from the University of Kentucky with a degree in agricultural education, she moved to Clinton, Ky., where her husband, Jonathan, farms with his grandfather.
Reynolds works as an agricultural education teacher and FFA advisor at Hickman County High School. It’s a single-teacher program in a rural community that requires Reynolds to teach six classes to approximately 120 students.
“I have great students who are excited to learn and have a passion for FFA,” she says. “One of the challenges is teaching subjects I don’t have as much experience in, but the cool thing is being able to learn things alongside my students.”
In addition to teaching agricultural education, Reynolds is pursuing a master’s degree in general agriculture at Murray State University.
Though Reynolds grew up in Kentucky, she’s new to the Clinton community. FFA gave her the tools she needed to feel at home.
“From FFA, I learned how to hop in really quickly to situations where I didn’t know anybody and be able to make connections,” she says. “Being in national office taught me that even when it’s challenging, it’s worth it.”
Ridge Hughbanks
Law Student and Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Marine Corps
Fifth-generation farmer and rancher Ridge Hughbanks went on his first wheat harvest at 6 months old, riding in the combine with his father across their fields near Alva, Okla.
“Agriculture was alwaysmy first love,” he says.
When Hughbanks joined the Alva FFA, he also discovered a passion for service. He served as a chapter officer, state president and central region vice president on the 2018-19 national officer team. He graduated from Oklahoma State University with a degree in agribusiness with a prelaw emphasis in 2021.
While researching potential career paths, Hughbanks explored opportunities that combined his interests in agriculture and service. Attending law school to serve as a judge advocate general (JAG) attorney in the U.S. Marine Corps proved to be the right choice.
“I have a deeply held desire to better serve my community and my country,” he says.
Hughbanks is a second-year law student at the Washington University School of Law in St. Louis. In August, he completed Officer Candidate School in Quantico, Va., and earned his commission. Currently a second lieutenant, he will commence active-duty service following his graduation in 2024. This career path requires long days of studying and intense physical training, but he believes it’s worth it.
“The values of the United States Marine Corps are honor, courage and commitment, and those are some of the core principles that were instilled in me while growing up on a farm and participating in FFA,” he says. “I’ve been fortunate to find a career where so many of my passions and interests intersect.”
Abrah Meyer
Project Manager, John Deere
Abrah Meyer grew up on a farm in Readlyn, Iowa, but it wasn’t until she started taking agricultural education classes and joined the Wapsie Valley FFA that she started thinking about agriculture as a potential career field. “Those classes made me appreciate what my dad did on the farm,” she says. “It encouraged me to go into the agriculture industry.”
Meyer majored in agriculture business at Iowa State University; she added a second major in supply chain management after hearing several companies talking about their supply chain departments during industry visits when she was a 2015-16 national officer.
“Supply chain is about getting things to the right place at the right time as fast as possible and at the lowest cost possible,” she says. “Supply chain is the key to getting food from the farm to the consumer.”
She completed internships at Monsanto, Archer-Daniels-Midland and Kellogg — all thanks to FFA connections — and joined John Deere as a supply management specialist after her 2019 graduation.
Meyer moved into her current position as a project manager in production and precision agriculture in the Olathe, Kan., office in 2022. Her role includes go-to-market launch planning and managing key bulleting communications to John Deere field teams and dealers. She credits her FFA experience with helping her achieve career success.
In addition to teaching Meyer to consider different audiences when delivering her message — something she does in her current role with John Deere — serving in leadership positions within FFA, including national office, taught her to lead with confidence.
“FFA has been a huge catalyst for me,” she says.
