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FFA – Future Farmers of America

FFA is a dynamic youth organization that changes lives and prepares members for premier leadership, personal
growth and career success through agricultural education.

FFA develops members’ potential and helps them discover their talent through hands-on experiences, which
give members the tools to achieve real-world success.

Members are future chemists, veterinarians, government officials, entrepreneurs, bankers, international
business leaders, teachers and premier professionals in many career fields.

FFA is an intracurricular student organization for those interested in agriculture and leadership. It is one of the
three components of agricultural education.
The official name of the organization is the National FFA Organization. The letters “FFA” stand for Future Farmers of America. These
letters are a part of our history and our heritage that will never change. https://www.ffa.org/

To read about a recent success story using the FFA as a platform, check out the Tennessee Association of Professional Surveyors (TAPS)
Spring 2022 Newsletter - Presidents Report by Andrew Stokes. TAPS set up an exhibit booth at the 94th Annual State Convention in
Gatlinburg, TN, and was able to grab the attention of hundreds of kids over a two-day convention. In total there were 3200 people in
attendance and they were able to have almost 500 sit down and watch their 3-minute video about a career in surveying.
https://www.taps-inc.com/mediafeed/search?ext=pdf&keyword=&type=application/pdf&folder=4&page_
title=Newsletters&sort=created_at&sort_reverse=true

Overall, many of the above programs would benefit from “Career Ambassadors:” surveyors who are trained to present at events like
Trig-Star and educate students for competitions like Future City. One thought is to have state land surveying associations create
learning centers to train such ambassadors, who would then be prepped and ready to jump into various events and spread surveying
awareness.
Become an Industry Partner

Career programs are effective because of local industry partners also contribute to student learning through mentoring, curriculum
development, site visits, internships and other workplace learning experiences being presented in class. They will also sometimes
lead to paid internships for students. These collaborations will provide mutual benefits for students and employers, by providing high-
impact learning to students and opportunities for employers to recruit diverse students. By hosting a student intern, it is not only an
investment in the future workforce, but also an opportunity to provide work-based learning opportunities for students that will create
value and benefits to your organization in numerous ways:
A few ways becoming an Industry Partner will help you are:

• Increase your visibility for recruitment.
• Connect with career-minded students.

• Diversify with new, motivated team members.
• Contribute to a vibrant local workforce.

• Build a Foundation for long-term relationships.
• Becoming trusted resource for network members.
Present at schools and fairs

A less formalized by equally valuable way to reach students is by presenting in schools and hosting booths at career fairs and events.
One of the essential parts of a presentation is bringing the right tools to the presentation. Know who your audience is, and know that
you need to stand out amongst the rest in order to keep their attention.
School Presentations
The vast majority of schools would be thrilled to have surveying professionals get involved with
students and conduct presentations. The problem is they have no idea who to reach out to. That’s
why surveyors need to take the first step and volunteer our team. Often once you make your
availability known, educators will be knocking down your door with opportunities.
For elementary school students, presentations and talks can be simple. How did a road get paved?
How did the house or apartment building that a student lives in get built? Illustrating the surveying
component of the process can be fun for young school children.
8 The Nevada Traverse Vol.49, No.2, 2022