CCSD students represent the valley as FFA State Officers
CCSD Students represent the valley as FFA State Officers
Congratulations to our CCSD students elected as Future Farmers of American (FFA) state officers! Mountain Crest student Sicily Brown is now the Utah FFA state president and Ridgeline student Mark Wangsgard is the reporter. Their years of hard work and service have prepared them well to succeed in these positions.
FFA is an agricultural-based leadership organization whose mission is to help develop future leaders in agriculture by giving its members opportunities to learn and grow and find their passion in the agriculture industry. There is a lot of competition involved, divided into Career Development Events (CDE) and Leadership Development Events (LDE). Examples of the CDEs include meat evaluation, horse judging, milk quality competitions, to name a few. LDEs include everything from public speaking to job interview competitions.
Mark Wangsgard has FFA in his blood. He grew up on a dairy farm and has four older siblings who all participated in FFA. In addition to agriculture, Mark has a love of technology. He has been a part of Mountain Crest’s VEX Robotics team and STEM classes his entire high school career. His future plans include earning a Meat Certificate from Bridgerland Technical College and getting a bachelor’s degree in computer science at Utah State University. His responsibilities as the FFA reporter involve working with the public to advertise what is happening in FFA.
Ridgeline’s FFA advisor Shyanne Ovard believes that Mark is well-deserving of this position. “Mark has worked hard his whole career in FFA, and he is always striving to be better,” she said. “Once he decided that he wanted to be a state officer, he was super motivated to put everything in place and make sure he had the resources he needed to succeed. He is going to do an awesome job and will represent our valley well.”
Sicily Brown has been riding horses since she can remember. She has been competing in rodeos for many years and has loved her time participating in FFA. She loves to serve and is planning on continuing her education to become a teacher and help students find their passion within the agriculture industry just like she has. This summer, she and Mark will participate in leadership conferences and social banquets with different FFA chapters. She is excited for the chance to serve and teach other students about FFA and the opportunities it presents.
Mountain Crest FFA advisor Tyrell Stephens believes that Sicily deserves this nomination because of her desire to lead and serve. “She’s always putting members first,” he explained. “But she also doesn’t forget to set goals for herself and improve and make herself better. Seeing those two qualities are everything a president should be: somebody that can serve others while striving to reach their own goals.”
“I think that there’s one huge common misconception: that the FFA is only for farmers,” Brown explained. “I hope that this year I’m going to be able to eliminate that misconception and help kids get involved, because in FFA, there is a place for every single person. It gave me a purpose in high school and it helped me grow a ton. FFA really brought me out of my comfort zone and helped me accomplish a lot of things and learn many new skills that will help me forever in life. I just want kids to realize that even if they’re not involved directly in agriculture, agriculture impacts them in some way throughout their life, and they have a place in FFA.”