SAE is one of the most unique educational tools at our
disposal as agriscience educators. SAEs have long standing impact on the lives
of students. SAEs are not optional.
Story #18 –
HI Dan, here is one of my
favorite SAE stories: About 13 years ago, one of my former teachers (and one of
my favorites) at Ferndale High School had lost his battle to cancer. I
attended his memorial with my dad (30 year Ag teacher) who was one of his best
friends. I was in my 7th year teaching. I watched as a
13 year old gave a phenomenal eulogy for his uncle. He was so composed,
articulate, and compassionate. He had the 1000 person crowd hanging on
his every word. My dad looked at me and said, “You gotta get that kid in
FFA.” I agreed, not even realizing he lived in our district.
A few years later, Lange Solberg entered high school. I had a few
of his friends in class and active in FFA. Lange was a football player,
class president, competitive ski racer, track athlete, and incredible
kid. I talked to him at the end of his freshman year after trying to
recruit him through his friends. I told him he needed to give FFA a shot
and see what it is all about, I asked about his interests after HS, etc. He
said he was hoping to go into business after going to college. I told him
we could help him with that and he should sign up for my Advanced Ag class 2nd
semester where we cover Agribusiness. He agreed. He had joined FFA,
attended a few meetings, done some community service and fundraising. He
couldn’t fit CDE’s into his busy schedule. Once he came to my class, we
spent a couple days talking about SAE projects. I showed a Stars over
America video from the 1990’s which featured one of my dad’s students who was a
Star American Agribusinessman in the early 1990s with his Sand and Gravel
operation he started as a freshman and was still operating up to 2 years
ago.
After class, Lange stayed in
my office for a half an hour figuring out how he can do that. I called
Farm Service Agency to inquire about their loans for youth SAE projects.
In class Lange worked on a Business plan or “Yacht Serv”. Since Lange
fished every summer since he was 12 up in Alaska, he loved the water so his
business was going to be servicing yachts at Squalicum Marina, running errands
for visitors (food, etc), fixing boats, deck work, cleaning, etc. He
applied for a $5000 FSA loan and received it. He bought a boat motor for his
skiff, pressure washer, and some other tools. He spent spring days after
track, weekends, and the summer working with the Port of Bellingham,
developing a website, advertisement, etc. He soon was hiring other
students to help him. He usually had 5-6 major projects going on at any
one time. His loan was paid off within 18 months and established a great credit
rating as a 17 year old. He was too busy and learned how to lead his employees
and manage his time. His senior year he was ASB President, football and
track athlete, FFA Vice President, and working 30 hours a week with his
business even during the winter. He applied for his State FFA Degree and
the Star Battery for Agribusiness. His senior year I talked him into
coming to state convention with his family for a day to receive the District 1
Star Agribusinessman. The state FFA sent state officers out to video his
business to show at the State FFA Convention. He showed up at state for
that ceremony and was blown away by the excitement and enthusiasm of the
convention. That evening on stage he didn’t really understand how big of
a deal this was. After they had mentioned all of the other districts and
shown the video, he was named the State Star in Agribusiness. He also watched
his best friend get elected as State FFA Secretary. This kid had never touched
an animal, yet his project was named the best agribusiness project in the
state. He and his parents were absolutely blown away.
He came back and went to the
junior high and asked teachers if he could talk about HS and the opportunities
he had in FFA and those that he missed out on. This led to the biggest
group of FFA members we had and probably the most successful (the 8th
graders he talked to). He also went on to Gonzaga University in their
business program on a scholarship for his business activities in high school.
His business became the business department’s business project for his
classmates and him. They developed a marketing plan, business plan,
worked with the law school on legal paperwork. His business and fishing in
Alaska paid for college with little student debt. He graduated Gonzaga in 2011
and is still operating his business part-time. Sorry this is long, but
needed to articulate how I got this kid involved (probably a year late).
Submitting Teacher: Mr. Todd
Rightmire
SAE Theorem #16 (Moore,
2003, The Agricultural Education Magazine)
Administrators must be educated about SAE. Most school
administrators don’t know the details of how an agricultural education program
operates. Therefore, they need to be educated. This can be as simply as sitting
down with your administration from time to time and simply telling them about
the components of agricultural education and why they are important.
Highlighting student SAE programs at the annual banquet or in a chapter
newsletter is another way to keep administration and community leaders informed
of SAE. You need the support of your administration in order to have a strong
SAE program. Open, direct communications about SAE is one way to achieve this.
You are a developing positive agent of change who will one
day help students explore and grow into their unlimited potential through
agricultural education!
