North Clay FFA advisor Katrina Van Dyke smiles for a picture during her chapter’s 2024 officer retreat.
National FFA Week highlights the impact and difference this organization makes on lives each and every day. This week also opens up the opportunity to gain recognition from students outside of a chapter, too.
The National FFA Organization instills a theme each day of the week, featuring people or projects that help bring an FFA chapter to life. For this year’s National FFA Week, the theme on Wednesday, Feb. 19, stuck out to me the most: Advisor Appreciation Day.
Beginning to Present
In 2018, Katrina Van Dyke began her role as the advisor of the North Clay FFA Chapter. If you asked about her favorite memories from the past eight years, she would tell you about how proud it is for her to see students get awarded their state and American FFA Degrees. She gets to see the hard work and time put forth toward receiving either degree, so she appreciates the recognition her members receive each year.
Van Dyke also says that when she takes students to conferences or conventions, she loves to see “not only the leadership and communication skills grown but also getting to introduce members to new restaurants and overnight hotel stays.”
Flash to the Past
Before those memories, Van Dyke spent her own high school and college days being active in FFA. For example, she served as a 1990-91 Illinois FFA major state officer. Through her time spent as her state’s reporter, she learned what her destined career path was.
“My year as a state officer was so life-changing, from the people I met to the things I had learned,” she says. Van Dyke also says her days spent with chapters across the state filled her with a love of teaching agriculture. Aside from her time in state office, Van Dyke’s high school FFA advisor instilled her with the passion she has today.
Career Opportunities Left and Right
After her year as a state reporter, Van Dyke worked for the regional office of education in Effingham, Ill. She began an agriculture career exploration class for juniors and seniors attending Effingham, Teutopolis and St. Anthony high schools.
Van Dyke continued to do this for 16 years until a full-time agriculture teacher position became available. The opportunity happened to be the school where her kids attended, so she took it. This week, she will be advising her eighth National FFA Week as the North Clay FFA advisor.
Van Dyke smiles for a picture with North Clay FFA members in their FFA apparel during 2025 National FFA Week.
A Single Day to Honor Several Years
I am greatly honored to feature my advisor and her story for Advisor Appreciation Day. During our interview, Van Dyke was asked what National FFA Week means to her.
“National FFA Week is always full of excitement not only from our FFA members but also our entire school,” she says. “I love the opportunity it gives us to share our story of agriculture with the rest of the world.”
