National FFA officer visits two Raleigh County high schools
Raleigh County Schools kicks off Disability Awareness and Acceptance Week
The Surveyor chapter at Liberty High School was one of two Raleigh County chapters to receive a visit from the Central Region Vice President of the National FFA Association.
FFA has long been associated with the rural communities of the country.
Rolling farmland, pastures filled with livestock, rows of rich soil ready for planting.
But Future Farmers of America offers much more to the students who join their local chapters.
Kaylee Ayers, President of the Surveyor FFA at Liberty High School, said she is taking her experience with FFA out of the agricultural realm.
'I think that's the stipulation a lot of people get about FFA is like, you have to want to be a farmer. But I want to do cardiac sonography. And while it's not an agriculture job, I think that the community work I've done with FFA has really inspired me to open my own clinic here and educate my community about heart health,' said Ayers.
Ayers said leading her chapter of FFA has given her the networking and public speaking skill she feels she'll need to succeed in the medical field.
Mary Schreiber, Central Region Vice President of the National FFA Association, said students like Ayers are why she loves doing school visits.
'It's really wonderful! These students are really great! I'm from Wisconsin, so West Virginia is definitely a new environment for me, but FFA students everywhere, no matter what state you go to, are always really welcoming, excited to learn, and they're enthusiastic and engaged. So, pretty much every classroom I walk into I feel really welcomed and right at home,' said Schreiber.
Schreiber also spent some time at Shady Spring High School in Raleigh County and said her welcome was just as warm there.
Hallie Basham, a sophomore in FFA at Liberty, said she was honored that her chapter of FFA was selected for a school visit.
'It means a lot to me that we've gotten recognition from all the way up in Wisconsin where she's from. And it just means that our chapter is growing and I just feel like FFA at Liberty has a really good future,' said Basham.
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Basham said she can not wait to see what her final two years of high school bring in terms of working with her fellow FFA members and looks forward to her chapter growing even larger.
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