FFA is full of opportunities for career exploration and real-world experiences, but it can be so much more. For FFA members who are willing to put themselves out there, there are opportunities to grow as individuals, find their footing as leaders and, most importantly, discover their passion and calling.
From Opportunity to Experience
Aidra Preston from the Ada FFA Chapter in Ohio made a commitment at the start of her freshman year. From the moment she stepped into the agricultural education room at Ada High School, she decided to say “Yes” to FFA.
Her journey began when she competed in the FFA Public Speaking Career Development Event (CDE), and she loved it. She made it to state her first year of competing, but when her nerves got the best of her and she didn’t perform as well as she hoped. Instead of giving up, she kept saying “Yes” to opportunities. She practiced and she refined her technique to find a style of speaking that was uniquely hers. After years of hard work and dedication, she made it to state one final time.
Preston’s Story
Throughout her time in FFA, it was more than just an organization — it was an opportunity to see herself in a new light.
Preston came into high school lacking confidence and without hope for friendship. Through her time as an FFA member, however, she has learned to see herself for who she truly is. She found out she is capable, valuable and a leader. The experience gave her the atmosphere and community to find her voice and potential, which is why she has decided to say “Yes” once more. The sun has risen and her senior year is coming to an end, but with state convention around the corner, a new opportunity is arising.
Throughout the past few months, Preston has taken the steps to run for state office to pour into the organization that has poured so much into her. Whatever the results may be, she isn’t the uncertain freshman she once was. Her faith and her time in FFA have truly transformed her life.
“Whatever God has for me will be, and there’s peace in that,” she says. It’s with that faith she has approached the process of running to be a state officer. For her, it isn’t about the title or the experience, but about following the calling laid out before her and reflecting the light she has found to other teens. For all that, she said “Yes.”
Preston’s story is a testament to the fact that taking the next step is rarely the easiest choice, but without it, we can never grow. She could’ve given up or stayed back in the shadows when times got hard, but she didn’t. She takes to heart Galatians 6:9, which reads, “So we must not grow weary in doing good, for in due time we will reap, if we do not give up.”
That is the power of “Yes.” If we keep going and doing good, even when times get hard, we will make it through together.
FFA isn’t just an organization — to many, it is so much more. FFA is a family, a community, an opportunity and a choice. That choice doesn’t need to be running as a state officer; it can be running as a chapter officer, competing in a CDE, going to a convention or attending a leadership night. There is one thing that separates an opportunity and an experience: the choice to say “Yes.”
