Samson-StudentFor Samson Harris, the Arizona FFA state vice president, FFA has always been a safe place to land.
That became especially true for Harris when he was a senior in high school and moved out of his family home. FFA and the networks he has created through the organization have always been there for him — especially during times of adversity.
“FFA has always been a home away from home for me,” Harris says. “At the end of the day, no matter what I was going through, FFA has always given me something to look forward to and work toward.”
The state officer experience has been life-changing for Harris so far — between chapter visits, training and educating communities across the state about the organization and its impact — he says he’s hoping he can reach students from all walks of life.
Harris, who is studying at Eastern Arizona College and hopes to pursue a career in
agricultural communications, never imagined that he’d be serving in the leadership role he is today through the Arizona FFA Association as a state officer. His FFA career in high school started a bit later than some of his peers.
Harris grew up in an urban area of Arizona and hadn’t been exposed to many facets of agricultural life until a close friend suggested he take a summer job working with him on a ranch where he’d be tending to livestock and guests.
“That really piqued my interest in agriculture, and that’s when I learned about FFA and all of the opportunities that come with it,” Harris says. “The high school I was attending at the time didn’t have an FFA program, so I transferred schools before my junior year just so I could join a local chapter.”
It didn’t take Harris long to hit the ground running once he joined a local chapter. He helped form career development event judging teams and encouraged other members to become more active so they could make the most out of their FFA experiences.
That decision has certainly paid off, he says. Now, he’s using his platform as a state officer to tell others about how FFA has shaped his life — and provided stability when he needed it the most.
“When things got hard at home, and I ended up moving out, my thoughts always kept coming back to FFA,” Harris says. “Now, it’s my goal to tell others about how FFA can work in your life and how being an advocate for agriculture has changed mine.”
