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Arizona Western College Hosts Future Farmers for America Conference in Yuma

Arizona Western College in Yuma recently hosted high-school students from around the city for an FFA conference.  KAWC’s Maya Springhawk Robnett reports…

Students at the event learned about potential careers in agriculture.  Freshmen students participated in the Greenhand Conference to learn about their upcoming and ongoing projects in FFA, or Future Farmers for America.  The 360 Conference was geared toward upperclassmen to teach them leadership skills.  Annily Hawks, the state FFA Consultant, said this year’s conference sought to teach FFA officers how to be selfish…

“They learn how to develop their personal leadership skills through being more selfish.  And so, we’re teaching them that it’s okay to be selfish in order to teach others,” Hawks said. “So, a saying that I really like that I’ve heard before is, ‘You can’t pour from an empty cup.’”

Ruth Mork, 18, is a Yuma Catholic High School student and this is only her first year in the club, as her high school just got its chapter up and running.  Mork says her parents got her interested in FFA. 

“I’m in FFA because I just want to grow my knowledge of animals and plants,” she explained. “My dad was in FFA and my mom—she did agriculture science, so I just want to pursue that dream and just keep living on that.”

This year, students from Antelope, Yuma, Cibola, Gila Ridge, Parker, San Luis, and Yuma Catholic High Schools participated in the conference.