ENMU Student National FFA Agricultural Ambassador

By Dr. Janet Roehl

ENMU student, Kassie Waller, has been selected to be a National FFA Agricultural Ambassador. She is majoring in agricultural sciences. The role of an ambassador is to increase awareness of the industry and promote opportunities in leadership, facilitation and agriculture for the national ambassador team.

“The ambassadors are trained to give presentations and facilitate workshops to audiences of all ages who are interested in learning more about agriculture,” Kassie explains.

“An applicant must also be a full-time student the entire year they serve as an agriculture ambassador, be a former FFA member, current Collegiate FFA member or a member of the National FFA Alumni Association,” adds Dr. Marshall Swafford, assistant professor of Career Technical Education.

Kassie Waller presenting about careers in agriculture at the 2015 Dawg Days Community Fair at ENMU.

Kassie began her FFA career as an eighth grader in the Texico, NM FFA Chapter. She was an active member of the chapter and participated in three national level events.

“The collegiate FFA at Eastern works closely with the local and regional high school chapters,” says Dr. Richard Johnson, assistant professor of Career Technical Education. Through this collaboration, students at the University level cannot only serve as mentors to the regions, but also partners to high school students.

“Our aspirations here at Eastern are to serve as leadership for high school FFA chapters, provide guidance and support to regional and national competition, and to continue serving the community,” Dr. Johnson explains. The collegiate FFA here at Eastern has not only the benefit of an agriculturally-centered community, but also a great historical tradition deeply rooted in the motto of the FFA organization.

The ENMU chapter participates in livestock shows and volunteers for judging events in the region. Dr. Johnson adds, “The expectation and vision for the collegiate FFA division here at Eastern is to continue serving and growing as a collaborative and supportive team while leading the way for student success.”

“I enjoy spreading the message of the importance of agriculture to a variety of audiences in the area,” Kassie says.