Meet Audrey Richardson
Audrey Richardson is a senior at South Putnam High School in Indiana. Throughout the past seven years, she has dedicated countless hours to the National FFA Organization.
Richardson currently serves as the Indiana FFA District VII vice president, but her involvement doesn’t stop there. She has competed in numerous competitions and attended countless events. Richardson has also embraced opportunities to grow both personally and professionally while balancing a busy schedule that includes participation in Leo Club, Drama Club, Student Council, National Honor Society and tennis.
Her journey through FFA has shaped her future in ways she never anticipated, leading her toward a career in food science and agriscience research.
Richardson at the 2024 Indiana FFA SOAR Conference.
Mentoring the Next Generation
Richardson’s FFA involvement has been about more than just leadership roles. As an Indiana FFA conference counselor at Seeking Opportunities and Achieving Results (SOAR) and Foundations in Reaching Excellence (FIRE), she found joy in mentoring younger members and helping them discover their own paths in agriculture.
“I wanted to be a friend and someone for members to look up to,” she says.
From Roadside Stands to New Beginnings
Richardson’s enthusiasm for agriculture led her to explore multiple Supervised Agricultural Experiences (SAEs). Her first experience involved vegetable production and running a roadside produce stand. When she lost her greenhouse in the middle of her sophomore year, she saw it as an opportunity to explore other SAEs, rather than a setback.
Educating the Future of Agriculture
With a free block in her school schedule, Richardson began working as a teaching assistant for her FFA advisor, Cameron Frazier, which included shadowing him and learning how to teach introductory agriculture classes. She also participates in Science Camp at South Putnam. One of her favorite memories from this experience is teaching younger students about aquaculture and how their waste can be used in sustainable food production.
Additionally, becoming a district officer opened opportunities for Richardson to facilitate lessons at schools throughout her district. Through district facilitation, she has educated students and members about the countless opportunities within FFA and how they can continuously grow their leadership skills.
Richardson with her first Agriscience Fair research project, which focused on how farm runoff impacts water quality.
Getting the Juice on Food Safety
At South Putnam, teachers offer a unique opportunity for all students enrolled in an agriculture course to take part in an Agriscience Fair research project. What started as water testing in eighth grade evolved into more complex research projects for Richardson.
As a freshman, she sat and thought about what a good project would be when she put a pH strip into a glass of orange juice. The results intrigued her and became the spark for her freshman year agriscience project.
Through her orange juice research project, Richardson identified that orange juice has a chlorine stabilizing effect due to the presence of cyanuric acid. She explored its potential health risks, such as links to cancer and kidney stones, and continued building on this research. This research ignited her passion for consumer food safety, leading her to collaborate with Purdue University during her senior year of high school and study consumer packaging and preferences.
A Shift in Taste
Originally aspiring to be a wildlife biologist, Richardson’s focus shifted when she realized the impact she could have on making food healthier and safer for consumers. Her SAE experiences introduced her to career opportunities she hadn’t previously considered.
Balancing the Ingredients
Balancing school, extracurriculars and her SAEs requires careful planning. Richardson worked closely with her advisors to integrate her projects into her academic schedule. She is able to facilitate agriculture courses while also leaving time for facilitation invitations from around the district as well as working on speeches in her downtime. Her ability to stay organized and prioritize her passions has been critical to her success.
Finding the Perfect Recipe for Your SAE
When encouraging other FFA members to pursue SAEs, Richardson emphasizes the importance of choosing something meaningful. “Pick something you learn from class that you think is interesting,” she says.
With so many SAE categories available, she believes there is something for everyone, and by exploring different areas, members may uncover new passions. “Finding a new love and passion for something might lead you to a career and life path like it did for me,” she adds.
Indiana FFA District VII officers at the Cloverdale Toy Drive.
A Taste of Service
Reflecting on her time in FFA, Richardson says one of her most meaningful experiences was participating in the Cloverdale FFA Community Toy Drive. Helping families who couldn’t afford Christmas gifts was incredibly rewarding, she says, and was made more special by doing it alongside her fellow district officers and FFA members.
Additionally, her involvement in competitions, particularly the Prepared Public Speaking Leadership Development Event, has been a defining part of her journey, as she finds joy and passion when giving speeches.
A Plate Full of Potential
Looking ahead, Richardson plans to continue her passion for agriscience as a semifinalist in the Indiana FFA STAR Agriscience Research program. After graduation, she will attend Purdue University to study food science with a minor in marketing, with hopes of becoming a flavor technician (a professional who researches and develops new flavors for food and beverages). Her ultimate goal is to create healthier, better-tasting options for consumers by improving food formulations and production processes.
Richardson is working toward a future where everyone has access to healthier food choices. Her dedication to improving agriculture and food science is all about creating lasting change aimed and better nutrition on every plate.
