Freshmen- The Future of our Chapter

Freshmen- often times regarded as the low man on the totem pole, especially in high school. However, the freshmen at Elk Grove High School are creating a new name for themselves. During the first three months of school, freshmen enrolled in the Elk Grove FFA, nicknamed “Greenhands,” have been hard at work; busy creating a foundation for their next four years within our chapter. Ninth grade students have been completing various in-class activities, attending leadership conferences, and competing with other schools in the Sacramento section, all before Thanksgiving break.

During the second week of school, Elk Grove FFA officers “took over” freshmen classes to teach them about the hundreds of ways they can become involved within the FFA. By encouraging them to get involved from the start, the Elk Grove chapter has reaped the benefits, many times over. In the first week of October, Freshmen attended a statewide conference called “Greenhand Leadership Conference.” At this conference, 45 ninth grade students from the Elk Grove chapter earned their FFA “wings,” allowing them to take off into their next four years with the program and take off they did. The following week, almost 50 freshmen students competed with 5 other schools in the Sacramento section in a public speaking contest. At said contest, students were assigned the mock role of an FFA officer, and were tasked with stating the role of the officer with regards to the opening and closing ceremonies of a typical FFA meeting. This contest allows for freshmen to begin the largely feared journey of becoming a proficient public speaker. Our chapter left the hosting school with two high placing teams, and 5 individuals recognized for their outstanding performance. Elk Grove FFA can confidently state that the next four years will be filled with students jumping at every opportunity to participate in this program. While the ninth graders can be teased because of their “freshman” status, they make up for it with the success of their first year in our program. So think twice before messing with a freshman next time- they could very well be a member of the Elk Grove FFA.