PERSONAL CAREER BRIEF

Introducing… Vay Jensen

A graduate of … Bear River High School

Now working as … An Agricultural Educator, teaching Agricultural Systems and Technology, Animal Science, Ag. Biology, and Natural Resources.

For … Altamont Jr./Sr. High School in Altamont, Utah.

Building Trades was his favorite high school class because … he learned how to build a house!

Vay’s first job – was a Groundskeeper at Crystal Hot Springs in Honeyville, Utah.

The worst job? Customer Support worker at a call center. What made it the worst for Vay was a combination of rude customers and sitting in a closed space for 8-10 hours a day.

Advice to students … Regardless of what you do after high school, you need some kind of post-high school education, whether it be a trade school or college. They both have their pluses and minuses.  

And more …

“After high school I spent the next 8 or 9 years working on ranches from Montana to Texas. It was a great time and I loved and still love the work. However, it taught me the importance of a post-high school education.”

• “While I was working on my Bachelor’s degree, I worked answering phones for cell phone customers. I did not like sitting on the phone for 8 to 10 hours a day. The customers were generally rude, and I felt like I was a dog on a leash. I like to be able to move around, and work. It gave me incentive to keep working on my degree.”
• I graduated with my Bachelor’s degree at 33 years old. It took several years due to being married, going to school full time, working a full time job 40+ hours a week, and shoeing horses everywhere in between. As of Dec 2011 I completed my master’s degree.

BY: MORGAN PETERSON, FFA STATE REPORTER

During October 17-23, 2011, nearly 54,000 FFA members flooded the streets of Indianapolis, Indiana for the 84th National FFA Convention. Three-hundred and fifty Utah FFA Association members, advisors, and guests attended the convention to compete and enjoy what the convention had to offer. This year our association was pleased to send another delegate bringing our total to six.

The Utah FFA Association was very well represented this year by all of our members competing in Career Development Events at the national level. The results are as follows:

• Agricultural Communications: Gold Ranking, 2nd place in the nation, Jason Averett, Logan Jones, Taylor Hill, Darryl Barnes, and Christina Nolasco, Springville FFA.
• Agricultural Issues: Bronze Ranking, Riverton FFA.
• Agricultural Mechanics: Gold Ranking, Lone Peak FFA.
• Agricultural Sales: Bronze Ranking, Bear River FFA.
• Agronomy: Silver Ranking, Uintah FFA.
• Creed Speaking: Bronze Ranking, Sarah Draper, Box Elder FFA.
• Dairy Cattle Evaluation: Silver Ranking, Fremont FFA.
• Dairy Foods: Silver Ranking, Morgan FFA.
• Environmental and Natural Resources: Bronze Ranking, Sky View FFA.
• Extemporaneous Speaking: Bronze Ranking, Travis Cann, South Summit FFA.
• Farm Business Management: Silver Ranking, Morgan FFA.
• Floriculture: Silver Ranking, Delta FFA.
• Food Science and Technology: Silver Ranking, Pleasant Grove FFA.
• Forestry: Bronze Ranking, Lehi FFA.
• Horse Evaluation: Silver Ranking, Fremont FFA.
• Job Interview: Silver Ranking, Maryann Rowley, Payson FFA.
• Livestock Evaluation: Silver Ranking, Manila FFA.
• Meats Evaluation and Technology: Bronze Ranking, Wasatch FFA.
• Parliamentary Procedure: Silver Ranking, Uintah FFA.
• Poultry Evaluation: Bronze Ranking, Payson FFA.
• Prepared Public Speaking: Bronze Ranking, McKena Woolstenhulme, South Summit FFA.

Additional Utah FFA winners and awards included:

• Agriscience Fair, Division Three, Botany: Ashley Rigby and Alexa Swain, Lehi FFA
• Seventy-six American FFA degree recipients
• Membership growth recognition
• Six National Proficiency Award finalists
• Seven National Chapter Awards

Congratulations to all of our contest participants!

This year we also had the privilege to have a national officer candidate, Amberley Snyder, of Spanish Fork FFA, make it past the first cut. Amberely is the first Utah candidate to make it past the cut in several years. We are very proud of her accomplishment.

Overall, the Utah FFA Association had great success at the 84th National FFA Convention. Congratulations to each one of our members! We appreciate all that you do. We have a great state association!

Like Utah FFA members on Facebook.

UtahCTE.org congratulates the newly appointed Utah FFA Association State Officer Team: Kaid Panek, State Vice President, Westlake High School; Sawyer Peacock, State Sentinel, Pleasant Grove High School; Logan Jones, State Secretary, Springville High School; Josh Ovard, State Treasurer, North Summit High School; Morgan Peterson, State Reporter, Juab High School; and McKena Woolstenhulme, State President, South Summit High School.

The officers were elected in March at the State FFA Convention. They were selected from a pool of 21 candidates by a nominating committee of their peers. Selection criteria included FFA and agriculture knowledge, presentation skills, and communication skills. High school grades were also important in the selection process as well as a Supervised Agricultural Experience Program, which is an agriculture based occupational experience or work-based or community-based experience.

The summer started with a National FFA training activity with five other western states hosted in Bryce Canyon, Utah. The FFA State Officers then passed that training on to the local chapter officers through three Chapter Officers Leadership Training (COLT) Camps. The first training was the Northern COLT held at the Fair Grounds in Morgan. The second training was the One-Day COLT held in Willow Park in Lehi. The third training was the Southern COLT held in Cedar City at the SUU Mountain Center. The Chapter Officer training included how to work together, how to set an agenda and conduct a meeting, and how to develop an effective Program of Activities for the year.

The theme for this year is “Make a Ripple”. The State Officers believe members can create a positive effect in their homes, schools and communities that will create a ripple across the state. We can all be a part of making a difference.

FFA is dedicated to making a positive difference in the lives of young people by developing their potential for premier leadership, personal growth, and career success through agriculture education. Nationally there are half a million members in 7,487 chapters. In Utah there are approximately 6,000 members in 77 chapters, where 38 percent of the membership is female.

Like Utah FFA on Facebook to follow FFA events throughout the year.

Learn about the CTE Agriculture Pathways and get started on a pathway to success.

National FFA Week brings with it a variety of traditional activities. One activity that the State FFA Officers always look forward to is the Legislative Ice Cream Social, held this year on February 23. Each year the State FFA Officers and one or two FFA Chapters gather at the Capitol Building to serve Aggie Ice Cream. Each year they are introduced in the House Chamber and in the Senate. Representative Ronda Menlove and Senator Ralph Okerlund sponsored the State FFA Officers this year and helped them arrange the Ice Cream Social. This activity provides a great opportunity for our FFA members to rub shoulders with Utah’s legislative leaders.

FFA members have “Infinite Potential,” they envision, discover, and achieve. The year of activities and service for the Utah State FFA Officers will culminate at the State FFA Convention held March 10-12 at Utah State University in Logan. The convention will be 2½ days of workshops, leadership training, career development event, public speaking, awards presentations and LOTS and LOTS of fun. For the State FFA Officers it has been a year full of travel, workshops, and chapter visits. Here are some of the FFA events that transpired:

Beginning in the summer the officers traveled to:

• Bryce Canyon to participate in the National FFA Leadership Training for State Officers conference, where Utah hosted five western states.
• Southern and Northern Utah for three Chapter Officer Leadership Training Camps.

In September, the school year started with 10 days at the Utah State Fair where the officers managed the Little Hands on the Farm exhibit providing agricultural literacy for the thousands of children, their parents, and grandparents who went through the exhibit.

The officers were then back on the road to:

• Indianapolis to attend the National FFA Convention.
• Richfield and Provo to attend two Utah Leadership Conferences.
• Visit 77 high schools and FFA Chapters around Utah. They visited with thousands of agricultural education students and FFA members, sharing insights on the many opportunities available in the FFA.

Utah’s 2010-2011 State FFA Officer Team, Chaleesa Warren, Matt Brocious, Katharine Nye, Sierra Cheyenne, Dalton Beck, and Kyle Niesporek, would like to say thank you to the Utah Legislature for a wonderful experience on Capitol Hill. And a special thank you to all the FFA members and Agricultural Education Teachers that made this year possible.

Learn more about Utah FFA and the CTE Agriculture Pathways and get started on a pathway to success.

Edgar Gonzalez

Edgar Gonzalez, a senior at the Granite Technical Institute in Salt Lake City, has been a member of the Granite Mountain FFA Chapter for the past three years. Edgar is a non-traditional student; he lives in an urban setting and he is visually impaired, but he has taken to the FFA like a duck to water. Edgar has shown market lambs and market hogs at the Salt Lake County Junior Livestock Show. He has also participated in the FFA Prepared Public Speaking Career Development Event (CDE), the Utah Farm Bureau/FFA Discussion Meet, and the FFA Job Interview CDE. He currently serves as the FFA Chapter Vice President. Edgar reports, “I would like to be a State FFA Officer because I love the FFA and I would love to be more involved. I also would like to be a better example for others and a strong leader.” We think Edgar’s leadership in the FFA has provided a great example. He personifies the FFA Week theme of “Infinite Potential – Envision, Discover, and Achieve.”

Join Edgar in the FFA and get started in a CTE Agriculture Pathway.

Edgar at the Salt Lake County Junior Livestock Show

Whether you’re looking to contribute to Utah’s economy, or more interested in self-sufficiency, CTE Career Pathways in Agriculture can help you get started! 

McKenzie Bright

McKenzi Bright is a student in the Agriculture Area of Study who is doing her part to shatter the common stereotype of the average farmer as a “guy with overalls and with dirty boots.” 

Six CTE Career Pathways in Agriculture help prepare students for future employment in such fields (pun intended) as Animal Science, Horticulture, and Natural Resources. The “Supervised Agricultural Experience Program (SAEP)” exposes students to the real-life challenges facing Agriculture today. Membership in FFA, the student leadership organization, builds on the foundation of classroom learning and gives students opportunities to demonstrate agricultural content skills as well as employability skills (e.g., communication, teamwork, time management). 

According to a report presented by the Utah State University Economic Research Institute, production and processing of agricultural products in Utah accounted for 13.9 percent of Utah’s Gross State Product in 2008, and directly employs 22,522 workers in our state. If Agriculture appeals to you, check out the opportunities to learn more by visiting http://utahcte.org/career/agriculture.php. 

You might also be interested to hear what attracted these successful Utah farmers, ranchers, and other workers to careers in Agriculture. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Hx2_TELaPM.

February 20-26 is National FFA Week. What is FFA? FFA is the student leadership organization for Agricultural Education. FFA is dedicated to making a positive difference in the lives of young people by developing their potential for premier leadership, personal growth, and career success through agricultural education.

FFA positively influences the young people of America by developing character and leadership skills, and preparing members for successful careers. FFA members are the leaders of tomorrow. Through agricultural education and hands-on learning, FFA prepares students for more than 300 career opportunities in the food, fiber and natural resources industries of agriculture.

National FFA Week was established in 1947 in conjunction with George Washington’s birthday. Throughout his life, George Washington made numerous contributions to agriculture and in the development of the United States. FFA Week gives members the opportunity honor the words of George Washington when he said, I know of no pursuit in life in which more real and important services can be rendered to any country than by improving its agriculture.

The theme of FFA Week is “Infinite Potential.” FFA members are encouraged to envision, discover, and achieve their potential within their communities. During the week, Utah FFA members will educate the public about agriculture, volunteer for community service projects, and participate in events from Public Speaking, to Agriscience Fair Competition, to serving ice cream to Utah’s legislatures, to hosting the Bar J Wrangler concert.

Nationally there are over 523,000 FFA members in 7,487 chapters. Utah has approximately 6,000 FFA members in 77 chapters. FFA has a history of service and a legacy of leadership, which they will celebrate during February 20-26. 

• Learn more about FFA.
• Like National FFA on Facebook, and like Utah FFA on Facebook.
• Follow FFA on Twitter.
  Want to tweet about FFA week? Use hashtag #ffaweek11.
• Watch FFA members in action on SchoolTube.
• Connect with FFA members from all over the country at FFA Nation. FFA Nation is a place to learn, share and connect with everything FFA.

 Envision, Discover, Achieve

Chaleesa Warren, FFA President