Future Farmers of America (FFA) is a club offered at Fauquier High School (FHS) that teaches students leadership skills and agricultural skills used to support them in future job fields or interests in agriculture. This club allows students to improve their knowledge of agriculture with hands-on experiences that prepare them for future successful careers. The FFA is a heritage club and the members compete in contests at local, state and national levels, as well as participating in service learning in the community. They do fundraisers and many community competitions such as going to districts.
This club has many benefits as well and it is a great addition to college applications and credits. While FFA is mainly associated with farming it offers much more than that and helps students develop important life skills, leadership, public speaking and community involvement. Many of those skills learned in the club could benefit students to be more successful in professional settings by allowing them to have hands-on experiences that prepare them for future successful careers.
The FFA promotes student governance which allows students to take part as more active members of the club and community. Each member has their own unique role but each one contributes differently to help manage the club. Susan Hilleary is the Senior Advisor for FFA and manages the club for FHS. She is also a teacher here at FHS and she manages most of the club and sets up many of the events such as going on field trips for the club. Georgia Grady, senior, serves as the club’s president and an active member of the FFA. Hilleary is the Senior Advisor of the club and under her is Joe Pisarzyk who is the Junior Advisor.
FFA allows students to create a gap between classroom learning and use real-world applications that explore topics such as agriculture, science and business all while using teamwork and hands-on projects that prepare students for life beyond the classroom. Grady states, “It helps students with a lot of life skills… I’ve become a really good public speaker and that’s gonna benefit me after I graduate college.” FFA gives students skills employers look for such as responsibility, leadership, teamwork and problem-solving. The FFA gives them a chance to apply what they learn and apply it to their real lives whether it’s in agriculture or leadership skills.
Additionally, the FFA promotes service projects that help students be active members of their community. It also benefits students more interactively instead of being stuck inside a classroom. Pisarzyk stated, “There’s not another club like it, and Mrs. Hilleary is a great teacher.” He believes that he has done “more public speaking than he would have otherwise because of the FFA.” Through FFA students learn to work together, learn about the agriculture industry and prepare for skills they can use in their personal and professional lives.
