In a typical year, FFA members have the chance to compete in Career and Leadership Development Events (CDEs/LDEs) with the goal of competing on a national stage at the National FFA Convention. But 2020 has been different, and when the National FFA Organization announced CDE/LDE competitions were canceled, a team of FFA staff got together to create a new opportunity for members: career and leadership challenges.
“We felt there was still a desire and a need to give all members an opportunity to continue to develop career and leadership skills,” says Morissa Meehan, CDE/LDE program manager. “We needed to create something to connect with members when we’re not able to host events.”
From this desire came the Career and Leadership Challenges.
The challenges mirror the career pathways – such as Animal Systems or Power, Structural and Technical Systems – with monthly Agriculture Advocacy and Literacy Challenges offered for members to creatively share their thoughts and views on the designated topic while also educating others.
Carol Herl, CDE/LDE education specialist, says the career and leadership challenges are practical and applicable.
“We saw members speaking up about the challenges farmers were faced with early on in the pandemic,” Herl says. “The Agriculture Advocacy and Literacy Challenges prompt members to speak on a specific issue, share their views on it and show that they know how to speak about the realities of agriculture.”
Members can participate by selecting a challenge, completing the predefined activities, preparing and recording a video response, then sharing a link to the video. The career and leadership challenges focus on personal growth; rubrics are provided to guide members through each challenge rather than determine award winners. The National FFA Organization will share some of the best videos.
Plus, all participants are automatically entered into a drawing to win prizes, such as FFA apparel or other swag.
Meehan says the format allows for greater reach, and more members will have the chance to participate, offering flexibility for those without the resources provided to them through technical instruction. Students can participate in one, a few or all of the challenges. The opportunities for participation extend through the end of the 2020-21 school year, allowing students and teachers to use them as a part of instruction, if they desire.
“With national competitions, we have a limited capacity,” Meehan says. “We only get to see the top 51 teams, which is a very small portion of our 700,000 members. This is a way for us to connect with members across the country and not just the top teams.
“The challenges also meet the urban and rural students where they are, with the resources they have at home. You don’t have to have a herd of cattle to understand how to class animals. Use your dog, your parakeet, your cat … the opportunities are endless. We challenge all members to explore, create, demonstrate.”
The career and leadership challenges can be entirely self-led. This is a chance for students to explore an area of agriculture they might not have been able to experience before or to train for the next CDE/LDE competition.
“We’re looking forward to having our in-person competitions back,” Herl says. “But in the meantime, we want to give members new opportunities to train for what’s next.”
Visit FFA.org/Awards/Challenges and plan to complete your challenge by each deadline.
