Abel Kooima thanks FFA for inspiring him to choose a profession focused on serving others.
The Waupun High School FFA Alumnus from Wisconsin remembers listening to motivational speaker and past national FFA officer Jason Wetzler talk about the importance of helping others as part of a person’s character.
“I was thinking, ‘Who does that in my community and in my life?’ and I thought of the fire department,” Kooima says. “I contacted the fire chief and asked if there was any way I could get involved with them, even though I was only in high school.”
Just a few weeks later, Kooima secured an internship with the Waupun Fire Department.
“I helped with fire inspections, filing reports and on training nights,” Kooima says. “For example, I operated the aerial on the back of the ladder truck. We also did maintenance on the tools that might be necessary to pry open a car after a crash. All this tied into agriculture because of similarities to agricultural mechanics and hydraulics.”
Kooima’s biggest takeaway from this internship? Believing in himself.
“I wouldn’t have thought I could climb a 35-foot ladder or crawl through a confined space with 80 pounds of gear,” Kooima says. “The internship helped me realize firefighters are resourceful and tactical thinkers. Whether it’s a car crash or a house on fire, they get put in rescue situations where they may not know exactly how to proceed, but it’s on them to figure out how to help people on the worst day of their lives.”
Abel Kooima started working at his local fire department after realizing it could be an opportunity to help others.
Learning to Lead
Kooima has been learning to lead his entire life. In fifth grade, he began helping on his uncle’s mink ranch in Michigan.
“He talked a lot about youth leadership and encouraged me to help advocate for agriculture any way I could,” says Kooima, who joined FFA in seventh grade.
After receiving encouragement from both his junior high and high school FFA advisors to get involved, Kooima served on the Waupun High School FFA Chapter officer team as safety chair, vice president and president. He initially thought his leadership roles in FFA would end with high school, where he was also taking college-level classes and on his way to becoming an EMT.
However, another state officer convinced him to run for state office. That effort was a success; Kooima now serves as the 2024-25 Wisconsin FFA State Vice President and delivers workshops and presentations around his home state of Wisconsin, among other duties.
“I enjoy seeing the gears in people’s minds start to turn,” he says. “They walk out of the room feeling like they learned something they can apply, or they tell me something I said had an impact on them. That makes me feel good.”
Wisconsin FFA Executive Director Cheryl Zimmerman says Kooima has a great ability to help people feel welcome and that they belong. “He is a lot of fun and helps others realize that through FFA, you can serve others and make friends no matter where you go,” she adds.
Kooima is representing his home state of Wisconsin this year as a state FFA officer.
After his tenure as state vice president ends later this year, Kooima hopes to join a big-city fire department and attend the Fire Academy. Ultimately, he’d like to serve as a fire department’s public information officer to spread the fire department’s message and possibly work with recruits. “I really enjoy teaching and mentoring,” Kooima adds. “I like to guide people.”
This goal doesn’t come as a surprise to Zimmerman. “Whether it’s serving FFA and working with members or by helping his community through his chosen profession, you can tell he has a heart of service,” she says. “Abel takes his role in serving others to heart and he cares for the people around him.”
