Ep 211 | Student success story: Making hay while the sun shines!

SPEAKER_01 1:32

So I attribute all of that success in getting to the honors program, getting that research opportunity to my involvement with the international baccalaureate program here at PHS, but then also the kind of well-rounded person that our Florida FFA program made me to be.

SPEAKER_00 1:58

Welcome to the Voices United in Education podcast. Each week we showcase the teachers, administrators, and community members who go the extra mile to contribute to the success of every child in Escambia County. You'll meet the real people behind the titles and learn about the amazing resources to support your child's success. Pensacola is known to be the origin story of quite a few professional athletes. And while we cheer loudly for them with hometown pride, my next guest is a star of a different kind. She is a Pensacola High School IB program graduate who was elected as state secretary for the Florida FFA. Yes, the entire state. Today she's going to share what it means to carry the torch for the nearly 100-year-old organization and how her experiences have shaped her outlook on what's next for her as an adult. Setting a new bar for excellence, building the bridge between legacy and trailblazing, tradition and innovation, Izzy Jenkins. Thanks for being here. Thank you for having me. So I totally thought FFA stood for Future Farmers of America. But you said that that's changed. So update me.

SPEAKER_01 3:13

Yes, ma'am. So it did stand for Future Farmers of America. It was an organization founded by a couple of farm boys. But towards the 1980s, they really understood that the members of the Future Farmers of America Club weren't all going to become future farmers. They realized that the members were becoming future scientists, future doctors, future teachers. And so that name just didn't seem all-encompassing for all its members any longer. And so it's kind of silly. It literally is now the FFA organization. We don't have an acronym. It's just the letters FFA.

SPEAKER_00 3:53

That's interesting. You you would think that they they'd be like future friends of America, like to give it new meaning, but they but they just left it.

SPEAKER_01 4:01

Just left out the letters.

SPEAKER_00 4:02

I could kind of see that though, because it still has that legacy of recognition. I mean, a hundred years, right? But then now, I guess how do they how do they define it? Like if someone came up to you on the street and said, Izzy, what's FFA? How do you answer them?

SPEAKER_01 4:17

I usually just say it was formerly known as the Future Farmers of America. It's an agriculture leadership organization for students. And really it's a club that teaches leadership development by way of agricultural education.

SPEAKER_00 4:33

I knew you had a good answer for that. Agricultural leadership is a new concept to me. What does that look like? Because agriculture, I'm thinking, okay, that's very niche. Um, leadership, I understand, but the two together, how do you unpack that?

SPEAKER_01 4:50

Yes, ma'am. It's definitely a very interesting club. They say to be a part of the FFA, you have to have three different components. You have to have an agriculture education in the classroom, you have to have a supervised agricultural experience, like a different self-led project, and you have to be a part of the FFA. And so, in order to have that leadership component, you have to be able to balance your own workload with that project with the SAE. And you have to be able to have a thirst for education through your agriculture education classes. But then the FFA part is more so that leadership development. And so all FFA chapters have different officer positions. And so we have a president, a vice president, a secretary. And so it's just teaching kids how to manage their own club because we pride ourselves on being a student-led organization. But then also something interesting about the FFA is that we follow many of the procedures of like Congress. Oh, wow. So a big competition is parliamentary procedure, which follows Robert's rules of order. And that's the premier competition that all students want to participate in. And so there's just different little aspects. We do a lot of public speaking, we do a lot of meeting procedures with Robert's rules of order and a lot of memorization, extemporaneous speaking, prepared speaking, just different things that would teach students how to be a leader.

SPEAKER_00 6:24

That's so interesting. Okay, that does paint a better picture. For you personally, when you were going through this as a high schooler, what did it bring to your mind as far as possibilities by like how you would see yourself as a future adult?

SPEAKER_01 6:40

It definitely, I always say that I knew what I wanted to do before I entered the FFA, but now that I am in the FFA, I have no idea. Oh, because so many different doors and jobs and subjects have been opened up to me. And so something kind of cool is that we have two different things in the FFA. We have leadership development events and career development events. So the leadership ones are the more the speaking, but then the career ones are just exposing students to all the different industries that can be connected to agriculture. And so whenever you think of agriculture and farming, you really think of the row crops, you think of farming the animals, the livestock. But it also, especially in Florida, includes forestry, aquaculture, environmental science, resources, vet science. And so we have different competitions for students in all of these different subsectors of agriculture. And so students can participate. And so being an FFA in high school, I got to participate in the aquaculture career development event where we partner with the University of Florida to visit their lab and just find out what this industry is all about. And I didn't know what it was about until I participated with FFA. And now I think, yeah, that could be a career I can see myself in. And the same thing went with forestry and the same thing went with ornamental horticulture. And so there's so many things that I just would not have been exposed to without this club.

SPEAKER_00 8:07

Oh, that's so fascinating. I love that it opened up the possibilities. But I appreciate your honesty of like, well, now I'm not sure. But you've got time. And sometimes things become clear by way of elimination. Yes, ma'am. So, but how did how did you even become interested in FFA in the beginning? Because you said, you know, life before and life after as far as your vision of yourself as an adult. But how did you even get to the FFA?

SPEAKER_01 8:34

So I had a little bit of a push. My mother is a middle school agriculture education teacher and also the FFA advisor at Beulah Middle School. And so she in her professional life has always been an agriculture teacher. She fell in love with FFA when she was in high school. But I always say that my parents never said, Izzy, you have to do this. They say, Izzy, you should do this. I think you'd really like it. And so my mom highly encouraged me to try out FFA my sixth grade year, and I did. Then I fell in love with it. And so that's really how I got my start, is that kind of connection through my mother.

SPEAKER_00 9:13

So what's the give and the take between being the daughter of a not just a teacher, a beloved teacher who is also, who was also the Florida FFA state officer? Because that's also another layer happening here.

SPEAKER_01 9:27

Yes, ma'am. It's very interesting. I will say that in life, it's all about connections. And so this is kind of my connection. And so things have been slightly easier. Like I wouldn't have been able to do high school with starting a new chapter without that connection through my mother. But it's definitely, you kind of have that legacy to fulfill and uphold because I always want to make her proud. But my parents are so wonderful in that regard. They really want me to become my own person and take what they've done and make it further, which is true for my mom. She always says that I continued these little things that she only scratched the surface of in high school, which I love completing that full circle.

SPEAKER_00 10:12

You seem to be rather unaffected by the potential pressure that that scenario could be, you know, set up for you. Do you feel it?

SPEAKER_01 10:19

Yes, ma'am, slightly. It's definitely not external, it's more internal. I'm definitely kind of a self-perfectionist. And so at times it feels like I'm not living up to that standard. But my parents are the reassuring factors that always tell me that I'm doing very well. So I try not to live up to this imaginary standard that I have set for myself. But I always think if I'm trying my best, that's all that my parents would want from me.

SPEAKER_00 10:51

Yeah, it's all part of the journey too. You mentioned starting a new chapter. Sam. And that's a really unique part of your story because you are not exactly a school in the country. You're at Pensacola High School, or you were at Pensacola High School, which is not a r in a rural community, that's inner city. So uh, and that's not the only reason it's unique, it's it's virtual. So, what's the story behind having a virtual chapter in the city?

SPEAKER_01 11:17

So I fell in love with FFA all throughout my middle school years, sixth grade, seventh grade, eighth grade. I gave my all to this club. And so it was natural that I would continue FFA into high school. But with me living in Beula, I only had two shots and an FFA chapter. And that was attending Tate High School or attending West Florida High School, both of which have FFA chapters at their schools. So the problem with Tate is that I'm not districted for Tate High School and it's at capacity, so I can't school choice into Tate. So that was off the table. And then the second choice was West Florida, which is a lottery school. And so you apply for West Florida and you either get in or you don't. And I didn't. I didn't get in the first lottery or the second lottery. And so that was pretty devastating because there was literally no other option except for attending a school that was like an hour away from my home. And so I just had to be at peace with my FFA journey being over. And so I attended Pensacola High School, which is where my dad went, and he was a part of the IV program and thought I would enjoy that a lot. And I did. I loved the IV program. And looking back, I wouldn't have it any other way. But in the moment, it's pretty sad that all this time and effort I'd spent for my middle school life went to nothing. But I still really enjoyed agriculture as a subject. I thought that this might be what I wanted to do in the future. And Pensacola i School doesn't have ag ed, it doesn't have any sort of agricultural related classes. And so I took a virtual lab class, which is just basically where people could take any class they want in FLBS in a virtual lab with a bunch of computers. So I had a friend who was taking PE because they didn't want to take it in person.

SPEAKER_00 13:04

Virtual PE. I don't know about that, but okay, keep going, keep going.

SPEAKER_01 13:09

And so I was taking agriculture communications because I couldn't have it at PHS. And so it was kind of just all these tiny little pieces falling into place. But my um FLVS ag teacher was a former coworker of my mother. They both worked at Tate together. And so we were just kind of talking and I was telling her how devastated I was. But then also the fact I didn't really understand that I was in an FFA class and there were so many different students who were in virtual agriculture. And if the only requirement to be in an FFA chapter is to be in an ag class, then why couldn't I be in an FFA chapter, even if my ag class was virtual? And so by way of that conversation, we had so many meetings at our house. My FFA teacher or my ag teacher with FLBS, my mother and I, and we petitioned to the Florida FFA Association to start the first virtual FFA chapter. And it definitely hasn't really been done before. There are two states that I can name that we found previous virtual chapters. Oh, I thought it was just like the first in Florida. So it is the first in Florida, but one of the first in the nation. And so that was really cool because other virtual chapters have been started, but they really fizzle out. And so we tried to connect with the chapters in North Dakota and see what really let your chapter thrive and what killed it. Um, and they they gave us so much advice. But this is all that we petitioned. We said we could keep this up and going. And so going into my sophomore year of high school, we established the Florida Virtual FFA chapter. And it's been very, very interesting because I don't have an ad class. I take it over the summer because the IV program, you can't really have electives once you get into the thick of it. And so I took virtual ad classes over the summer to qualify to be in the FFA chapter during the school year. And it was really cool. I did it with a couple other friends, but PHS is definitely not the traditional FFA school that you would think of. But so many of my friends were very interested in the subject. So that was cool to give myself the opportunity and them as well.

SPEAKER_00 15:31

Yeah, that's what I was thinking is you've opened up a whole new world of possibilities for other students who may not have even known. Cause like you even said, you know, pre-FFA, you were like, I know exactly what I'm gonna be when I grow up, you know. And then after, you're like, whoa, there's a lot more options here. I think I'm gonna take my time and kind of explore these in more depth. And you gave that gift to other students. And the chapter is doing well, isn't it like the third largest in Florida now?

SPEAKER_01 16:03

Yes, yeah. We're one of the largest. Those numbers are always fluctuating. But something really cool is FFA, it doesn't feel like a big deal in downtown Pensacola in the PHS area because we don't have any physical chapters. But down south, this is a huge organization. We're the largest student organization in the country. And so it's really cool because the Department of Education recognized that and we get a grant from them every single year. And we have something called affiliation. So the Department of Education pays for every single enrolled agriculture student to automatically be an FFA member. And so the students do not have to pay for that membership to the FFA. And so through that, we shot upwards in tens of thousands of members in the state of Florida. And so now we have 65,000 FFA members. And it's just the chapter? No, that's in the entire state of Florida. But since we have so many different FLVS classes, our membership for FLVS is huge in consideration because we cover students from Pensacola, Florida, all the way down to Miami, Florida. And so we're one of the biggest now.

SPEAKER_00 17:20

And tell me what FLVS is. Oh, Florida Virtual School. Okay, thank you. Thank you. That's incredible. Okay, so as state secretary, I mean, you seem to definitely have a very wide breadth of knowledge of how everything works and all the pieces, but what do your duties include? You know, is it like Miss America where you go around and give talks?

SPEAKER_01 17:42

So I describe this to people who don't know about FFA as a year-long internship almost with a CTE organization. And so my job really includes helping the runnings of the Florida FFA Association. So with the over 65,000 students that we accommodate, we have different career and leadership competitions. And we also have different leadership conferences that we put on as an organization to kind of keep everything running. And so my jobs included helping with those different competitions throughout the year and with planning and giving different leadership continuums. And also my favorite and probably the main part of my job is something we call chapter programs. And with that, we really just want to go and give chapters the opportunity to bring leadership curriculum down to their classroom level. So I'll go and spend a day, the entire day, with an agriculture teacher and speak to every one of their classes and kind of give a little leadership curriculum. And so that's the main portion of my time being spent.

SPEAKER_00 18:55

And that's your favorite. So that's a good thing that that's the main part of it. Yes, yeah. I can just see you shining in that role. What is that like for you when you're standing up there? Is it like an out-of-body experience? Do you get nervous? Are you like in the zone and you feel what people call flow? Like what is that like?

SPEAKER_01 19:13

So I actually, to this day, I've done so many chapter programs, but I get so nervous before I attend them, but then I instantly get in front of the kids and it's like, click, I'm fine. But it's really hard because this is another instance of me thinking I know what I want to do in life. I always said, with my mother being a teacher, I know I don't want to be a teacher. But so many teachers have come up to me and said, Izzy, you need to be a teacher. And I just enjoy the kids so thoroughly. And so that's definitely been a little bit in the back of my mind of this is a place I would see myself being. But it's really cool. So once I get there, I'm completely fine. And I honestly kind of go with the vibes of what the kids are giving me. If they're not into an activity, I'll drop it. If they're having so much fun, I'll extend it. It's just really fun. Just the kids determine what we learn that day.

SPEAKER_00 20:11

That is incredible. I love your humility to concede to the not inevitable future, but like the possible future that teaching could be on the horizon for you. Now we're recording this in April, and in June, there's the big state convention. Yes, meow. And you'll pass the baton to the next student or chapter. What advice do you want to leave with them?

SPEAKER_01 20:36

Oh, so there are different things. Number one, if you ever come into this role and it's kind of more self-serving, or if you're not there to go visit with the students, then you're honestly gonna have a miserable time because the year is just made to be there for kids and FFA members all throughout the state. And so what makes the, I actually sat down and logged it. I have driven over 10,500 miles this year throughout the state of Florida visiting with kids and students. And what makes that over 140 hours in the car worth it is the kids. And so if you don't have that kind of motivation and you don't remember what this role in organization is all about, then it's going to be pretty not enjoyable. That's such solid advice. And so that would definitely be my number one advice. Just kind of remember what you're there for, because it definitely makes it worth it. They call it a year of service, and I've gotten so much out of this year, but at times it can feel like you're putting college on hold, you're putting life on hold. All of my friends are going to be sophomores when I'm a freshman, but but it's definitely worth it.

SPEAKER_00 21:53

Yeah, it's a unique opportunity. Yes, ma'am, for sure. And when you go to university, it's not like you're gonna be behind because you are going to UF in the fall. Yes, ma'am. But you're not going as a normal student, but as an honors program student, an opportunity that had over 20,000 applicants, with only 2,000 of those 20,000 accepted, and only 2% of those students get accepted into the research program, right? So I mean, I don't think you need to worry about your friends being a year ahead of you. I mean, this is a huge deal. Are you excited?

SPEAKER_01 22:30

I'm very excited, and I do attribute all of that kind of college success because I was speaking with a University of Florida agriculture professor the other day. And my year there were 93,000 applicants, and this year there's around 98,000. And so the numbers just keep climbing. And so even our home land grant, agriculture-based university, it's not a guarantee. So I attribute all of that success in getting to the honors program, getting that research opportunity to my involvement with the international baccalaureate program here at PHS, but then also the kind of well-rounded person that our Florida FFA program made me to be.

SPEAKER_00 23:21

Yeah. And you can really see that, you know, you can see that. And I love your level of self-awareness, is I think really cool. I don't know if that feels cool to you, but I think it's cool because when you're very like achievement-oriented, sometimes you lose track of like your personhood, you might say. You know what, does that resonate? I can see that. Yes, yeah. And so you you seem to be holding on to that. Like your admission that being a teacher might be in your future, and you know, what it feels like to be in the role that you're in. So I love that that you're soaking it all in. As we wrap up, I want to know because national FFA is, I mean, really almost a hundred years old, how would you like to see the organization move in step with the future of whatever's next?

SPEAKER_01 24:11

So something about agriculture and what intrigues me about the industry so much is it's ever evolving. Something really cool about this year is I've gotten to travel to Spain, to Iowa, to other states.

SPEAKER_00 24:24

That you listed Spain and then Iowa. You are the sweetest person, Izzy.

SPEAKER_01 24:31

I get to do agricultural tours. I just got back from touring the largest pork factory production that there is in the United States. And so it's really cool to see the agriculture industry is ever evolving with technology. We're utilizing drones, AI, and there are just less and less of the modern-day youth who want to go do the traditional farm labor. And so you need to have that technology to supplement the lack of number one, land left for agriculture and manpower left for agriculture. And so, what I would like to see, and what I am seeing the FFA program and association do is to get kind of with the times, I guess. They're recognizing more and more so that the people who are going to make the agriculture industry run are going to be the farmers, of course, but it's also going to be the scientists and the engineers making these technologies and these new products to help make farms run. And so it's really exciting to see more and more so how FFA is embracing the future of agriculture. Like, for instance, next year we're doing a new competition for students, the agri science biotechnology competition. And so, like just little things like that, you're just including more and more so students and our numbers are just growing. And so I think that we're properly meeting the evolving agriculture industry and interest of the youth. But I would just like to see that more so continued.

SPEAKER_00 26:06

Well, you're a part of it because your your perspective and your initiative to create that virtual chapter is really sending signals to the hundred-year organization. This is what we need to do to be relevant in the next hundred years. So thank you for sharing, Izzy. This was fantastic.

SPEAKER_01 26:23

Thank you for having me.

SPEAKER_00 26:24

I've thoroughly enjoyed this. Thanks for listening. Be sure to subscribe and share. Voices United in Education is a production of Escambia County Public Schools.