The 94th National FFA Convention and Expo took place in Indianapolis, Indiana from October 27th through the 30th. During convention, the Missouri State University’s Darr College of Agriculture was represented by the presence of staff and by students receiving national degrees.
Megan Wilson, Marketing and Recruitment Coordinator, attended the college and career expo. During this time, Wilson spoke with FFA members and advisors from numerous states about the educational opportunities offered at the Darr College of Agriculture. She provided the prospective students with take home pamphlets that encompass the educational studies and facilities available at the college.
While Wilson was working hard behind the scenes to recruit future bears, current students from the college stood before more than 60,000 FFA members and guests as they received their American FFA Degree.
The American FFA Degree is the highest degree the National FFA Organization can bestow upon its members. Less than one percent of the student membership receive this award. It is the highest degree achievable within the organization as it displays the dedication a member shows to their chapter and state organization. This year, the state of Missouri was awarded with 539 total American Degree recipients. Six of those members are students within the Darr College of Agriculture.
The students who received this degree are as follows:
Kaitlyn Neubert – Agriculture Business, Agriculture Marketing and Sales
Allison Brinkley – Agriculture Education
Madasyn Haynes – Agriculture Education
Bailey Groves – Animal Sciences
Ada Tucker – General Agriculture
Kaitlyn Neubert is a senior at the Darr College of Agriculture and is originally from the Vienna FFA Chapter. When asked about her experience when she received this award, she responded, “Standing in the crowd, I felt a sense of accomplishment that I had never felt before. I was finally finishing a chapter of my life that I had worked so hard at for a little over 5 years. I am able to look back on my time in the blue jacket and be thankful for the friends I met and the experiences I am able to take with me throughout the rest of my life”.
Although Neubert will miss the times spent in the blue corduroy jacket, she is looking forward to the future and how much of an impact the organization has made on her life.
“FFA has and always will be the greatest part of me. I hope to share with others, in the future, the importance of Ag and the impact FFA has on not only me but everyone who puts on that blue corduroy jacket”.
We want to say congratulations to these students! It is a true honor to receive the American FFA Degree and we are proud of what each of you have accomplished.