In this episode of "Living in the Jacket," host Carleen interviews Liberty High School freshmen Ava, Braxton, and Wyatt about their experiences in the FFA program. The students discuss their leadership roles, interests in agricultural mechanics and public speaking, and the transition from middle to high school FFA. They share advice for new members, reflect on the value of FFA in building friendships and skills, and highlight upcoming events like the 100th FFA convention and fundraisers. The episode showcases their enthusiasm and the supportive, inclusive environment of Liberty’s FFA chapter.
Transcript:
Certainly! Here is your revised transcript with last names removed and only the speakers Carleen, Ava, Braxton, and Wyatt included. All other speakers and last names have been omitted.
---
Carleen 00:00:48
Hello and welcome back to Living in the Jacket. I'm your host, Carleen, and today we have three special freshmen from Liberty High School FFA. Would y'all please introduce yourselves?
Ava 00:01:07
I'm Ava, and I'm a freshman. I'm not currently serving a position, but...
Braxton 00:01:08
My name is Braxton. I am a freshman at Liberty, and I am not currently serving any position.
Wyatt 00:01:12
My name is Wyatt. I'm a freshman at Liberty, and I'm not serving in any positions.
Carleen 00:01:19
Okay, so have you all previously served any positions then?
Braxton 00:01:24
I have.
Carleen 00:01:26
Please explain.
Braxton 00:01:28
Okay. Seventh grade was the first time I was elected to any position. I was a historian in seventh grade. That was pretty cool. All I did was basically keep records. Eighth grade, I was actually elected president. I thought it was pretty cool. A good way to get some leadership experience for me.
Carleen 00:01:54
Ava?
Ava 00:01:55
In seventh grade was the first time I was elected, and I served as chaplain, which was a great way to express my faith with the chapter. And my eighth grade year, I was elected vice president, which was really enjoyable.
Wyatt 00:02:14
In eighth grade, I was elected treasurer in the filling position I served.
Carleen 00:02:19
Okay, and are you all interested in running again for high school?
Braxton 00:02:25
Me too.
Carleen 00:02:26
Well, I'm very happy about that. Love to have you all on the team. So, like, what's your background in FFA starting in middle school? Because y'all all did FFA in middle school. So what's your background from going from middle school FFA to high school?
Braxton 00:02:50
When I was in middle school, the ag teacher actually came to me about a competition. I was pretty interested in FFA at the time. I signed up, but I was never really that active in sixth grade. She actually came to me in around March. And if anybody that's not in FFA doesn't know, that's area rally time where there's a lot of competitions that go on. So that's the first time I actually competed in competition. I competed in ag mechanics. And then ever since then, I kind of fell in love with it. I love to do it. Second year I did a little bit more, did histology, went on a few trips and competed in an area rally again, where I actually got seventh in the district. And then my eighth grade year, I kind of went all out when I was a part of the officer team. We went to Great with Foliage a few times, and competed in more competitions. And that's actually when I got first in the district in argon six. But FFA taught me a lot. It taught me a lot of leadership, helped me create some friends that I thought I'd never talk to. I met a lot of people from a lot of places. I still have friends I talk to that are from Northern Virginia. So yeah.
Ava 00:04:13
I first started FFA... Well, FFA has been a huge part of my life as my mom was an advisor my whole life up until this year. But I started in middle school and in middle school I was really into small animal care, and I really wanted to go the route of veterinary sciences and stuff like that. But once I got into seventh grade, I could start competing in public speaking and creating events like that. And I just fell in love with public speaking, and I just feel like it's a great way to express myself to others. And I feel like FFA brought public speaking to my life. In eighth grade, I started public speaking even more. I don't know, that's just been a pretty good, fun part of it.
Wyatt 00:05:05
I've been a member all the way from sixth to eighth grade. In sixth and seventh grade, I wasn't very active. I did some ag mechanics competitions, and then in eighth grade, I went all out. In seventh grade, I went to state convention for ag mechanics, and I did as well in eighth grade. And that's really the only competition I've ever competed in in FFA.
Carleen 00:09:38
Yeah, that's the same as I plan to continue with the ag power. And I'm thinking my junior year, I'll switch to floriculture.
Carleen 00:10:40
My SAE, well, I don't currently have an SAE that I'm working on, but I definitely--and like I've said before, I enjoy working in public speaking, so I've been thinking of ideas of how I can incorporate that into an SAE about agriculture, and just trying to think of ideas on how I can make something out of that.
Carleen 00:11:51
Yeah, I agree with what Braxton said. I feel like FFA just brings in--like, it's not for a specific group of people. I feel like it's a very vast group and I feel like it's just very good for leadership growth. It's not like it doesn't always have to be like sales, plows and cows. It's definitely not always sales, plows and cows. But I definitely think it branches off into many other things.
Carleen 00:13:50
Yeah, yeah, definitely off of what Braxton said. I feel like it's so welcoming. I feel like anyone could be welcomed into FFA no matter what. From SAEs, like whatever your SAE is or if you're just taking the class for the fun of it. But I definitely think, like what Braxton said, it's very good for opening up to other people.
Carleen 00:15:32
I think I'm pretty excited for--I know myself, I'm excited to speak at public speaking events and hopefully to where I can compete at the state level.
Carleen 00:16:36
I definitely try to be like an inclusive person. I try to be very kind to everyone, and I definitely would try to bring more people in for the program to grow.
Carleen 00:17:39
No, I think I'm not really scared, but I think I'm more excited. I'm more on the excited side. Like, I feel like once I get to the point where I want to be, I feel like I'll just have achieved so much.
Carleen 00:19:05
Yeah.
Carleen 00:19:13
The 100th team?
Carleen 00:19:15
It's crazy.
Carleen 00:19:40
Yeah, yeah. For sure.
Carleen 00:22:57
So everybody say bye.
Ava 00:22:58
Bye!
Braxton 00:22:58
Bye!
Wyatt 00:22:59
Bye!
Time Stamps:
Introduction & Student Introductions (00:00:48) Host Carleen Gilliam welcomes listeners and the three Liberty High School FFA freshmen introduce themselves.
Previous FFA Positions in Middle School (00:01:19) Students discuss their officer roles and leadership experiences in middle school FFA.
Transition from Middle to High School FFA (00:02:26) Students share their FFA backgrounds and how their involvement evolved from middle to high school.
FFA Competition Experiences (00:02:50) Students describe their participation in FFA competitions and the impact on their personal growth.
Discovering FFA Interests (00:05:25) Discussion about how ag mechanics and public speaking became central to their FFA experiences.
Excitement for High School FFA (00:05:58) Students express what excites them about being FFA members in high school versus middle school.
Differences in FFA Classes (00:07:34) Comparison of middle school and high school FFA classes, including course options and workload.
Future FFA Classes & Plans (00:08:52) Students talk about classes they plan to take next year and their career interests.
SAE (Supervised Agricultural Experience) Projects (00:09:47) Discussion of current and future SAE projects and how they relate to career goals.
Advice for New FFA Members (00:11:15) Students offer advice to middle schoolers or freshmen considering joining FFA.
Activities to Interest New Members (00:12:50) Suggestions for activities and events that might attract new FFA members.
Anticipated Events & Competitions (00:15:09) Students share which FFA events and competitions they are most excited about this year.
Personality & Roles in FFA (00:16:08) Students describe their personalities and the roles they play within the FFA chapter.
Feelings About High School & the Future (00:16:56) Discussion about their feelings regarding the transition to high school and future responsibilities.
Upcoming FFA Events & Announcements (00:20:12) Updates on recent and upcoming Liberty FFA events, fundraisers, and social media.
Podcast Closing & Farewells (00:22:11) Host thanks the guests, teases future episodes, and everyone says goodbye.
Key Words:
FFA, Future Farmers of America, Liberty High School, agricultural mechanics, public speaking, leadership roles, middle school, high school, transition, Ava Curtis, Braxton Burton, Wyatt, Carleen Gilliam, FFA experiences, student involvement, team expansion, friendships, competitions, state conventions, ag power class, welding, electrical work, carpentry, floriculture, career interests, essays, inclusivity, support, personal growth, skills development, public speaking competition, National FFA Week, Santa Paws fundraiser, American State Degrees, social media engagement, TikTok, Liberty FFA, Living in the Jacket, agriculture, small animal care, leadership development, camaraderie, 100th FFA convention, alumni pancake breakfast.