Born and raised in Fukushima, Japan, Nagomi Lydia Watanabe moved to Kansas in 2018 to live with her grandmother. As a high school sophomore, she had no plans to join FFA, but thanks to the encouragement of her agriculture teachers, she decided to give it a try — a decision that Watanabe says changed her life forever.
“My FFA journey started when I enrolled in an agriscience class due to my interest in veterinary medicine,” says Watanabe, who attended Arkansas City High School in Arkansas City, Kan. “My teacher, Ms. Kasie Bogart, was an FFA advisor, and she thought I’d enjoy attending our district’s Greenhand conference. I declined at first, but she and another FFA advisor, Ms. Josie Messenger, talked me into it. I’m glad they did because it was the start of something incredible.”
To her surprise, Watanabe placed 10th in the Kansas FFA Greenhand Information Test event, which she says was a huge confidence boost and the confirmation she needed to officially join Ark City FFA.
Watanabe began competing in the Parliamentary Procedure Leadership Development Event (LDE) with a teammate, and the duo went on to compete at the Kansas FFA State Convention. She also attended National FFA Convention & Expo, where she says she grew more connected to her chapter and was in awe of the nationwide FFA community.
Nagomi Lydia Watanabe is serving as the 2021-22 Kansas FFA reporter.
“I’d never been part of anything like FFA, and I just dove in headfirst,” Watanabe says. “During my time as an Ark City FFA member, I competed in multiple career and leadership development events. I served as Greenhand vice president, chapter vice president, chapter president and district secretary.”
Her FFA journey didn’t end there. At the virtual 93rd Kansas FFA Convention in June 2021, Watanabe became a Kansas FFA officer when she was elected the 2021-2022 Kansas FFA reporter.
“My experience as Kansas FFA reporter has given me the chance to connect with FFA members from across the state, and I’ve learned so much,” she says. “It’s a privilege to be in this position.”
Watanabe, a Kansas State University student who is part of the school’s Food Security Scholars program, credits her agriculture teachers with helping her discover new parts of herself and introducing her to opportunities she never could have imagined. Without them, she says, she never would have explored FFA.
“FFA is a special organization,” Watanabe says. “It’s opened my eyes to so many things, changed the way I think and altered the course of my life. I’m truly grateful.”
