One farm. Two parents. Four daughters. And a whole lot of chores to do. For Samantha and Mandy Downey, growing up on a southern Indiana farm, there were never “boy jobs” and “girl jobs.” In their family, there was just good, honest hard work.
“We did a lot of what we always jokingly referred to as ‘character-building activities,’” Samantha says. “I feel like we were lucky not to have brothers, because if we had, we might not have learned to do things like drive tractors and fix the baler. But because it was the four of us girls, we did every job.” “We put up a lot of hay and built a lot of fence,” her younger sister, Mandy, agreed.
When they got to high school, the young women followed in their older sister’s footsteps and joined FFA. They both remember their experiences fondly. Sam says, “ I loved the leadership opportunities, and I was involved at local and state levels. The collaborative work environment taught me the importance of what every person brings to a team, which is something I still appreciate to this day.” Mandy also appreciated the leadership opportunities she received through FFA. “My pride and joy was getting a group excited to clean the FFA room,” she says with a laugh. “I still do like getting people excited about learning, and I credit that love of training and mentoring from my time in FFA.”
Both sisters say their primary memory of FFA was good times and great laughs. “I can’t overstate the amount of fun we had,” Mandy says. “The ag room and the bus trips we’d take — those are some of my best memories of high school.”
These days, both Downey sisters work at Syngenta. Samantha is a technical development lead, based in Memphis, Tenn. She graduated from Purdue University with a bachelor’s degree in plant breeding and genetics, then earned a master’s degree in crop science, with a specialty in wheat breeding, from Washington State University. Mandy is a seed sales representative for NK. She earned a bachelor’s degree from Purdue, majoring in agribusiness. (And if you’re noticing a theme for their undergraduate education, you’re right. Their older sister, who also works in ag, graduated from Purdue, and the baby of the family is attending Purdue now and has expressed an interest in ag.) These days, Mandy is close to home. “I’ve moved back to my hometown of Booneville, Ind., and I’m living at one end of the family farm,” she says.
Now that they’re both professional women who work in ag, the Downey sisters are even more aware of the lasting benefits of their FFA experience. “The networking opportunities that happen because of that connection are real,” Sam says. “It’s an initial bond, and something to talk about, because all of us former FFA kids have something in common.”
Photo credit: Courtesy of Mandy and Samantha Downey. All photos are either the property of Syngenta or are used with permission.
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