My interviews with
Nick, Josh, and Mr. McGown were very interesting. Although none of my
interviewers were from the same school they all had something in common. I
really enjoyed talking with others who share the same passion I do for such an
amazing organization. FFA is not just an organization that deals with farming
or agriculture, it is so much more than that. Over the span of
three days I conducted my interviews in two different locations. My interview
with Nick was a little awkward at first but by the end of the night it seemed
as if we were best friends. I asked almost the same questions to all three
people I interviewed. All their answers were very similar.It really amazed
me how something like the FFA creed can me so much to a person. The question I
asked that I enjoyed the most was, “in your opinion do you think it is
important for every FFA member to memorize the creed and why?” Mr. McGown’s
response was, “I believe it’s essential to memorize and be familiar with the
FFA creed. Though it is challenging for most, it is the first thing every
member should know. It is not only our creed but a part of our brotherhood and
sisterhood. It states what every member should strive for. Even though it is
older than us, it is who we are. We will always live those famous words, “I
believe in the future of agriculture.” To know that Jimmy Carter said those as
equals to us. To see a national officer and know you have the creed in common
is truly amazing.” I really liked his response because he talked about Jimmy
Carter and how he was just like us and didn’t have more power over any FFA
member. Josh’s response
was, “The creed is something that FFA members should learn, know, and put into
practice. It is something once FFA members have memorized they should try to
incorporate it into their own FFA goals and journeys. They truly should believe
in the future of agriculture, they should want to strive to work on a farm or
something agriculture related. I think today the biggest misperception about
FFA is that it is all farmers and that’s not true. It’s about anyone who wants
to better the future and themselves. So the creed is a good way FFA members can
do so. They can take this historical philosophy and adapt it to their own.” Nick’s response
was, “I would say yes. The creed serves as new era in agriculture. It allows
members past, present and future to have something to live by. I think it is
important for members to learn and know the creed because it can give them a
chance to interact with many people in the agriculture industry and share a
sort of passion.” After asking the
question, “since freshman creed speaking have you competed in any other
speaking contests?” I discovered the fact that Nick and Josh had relatively
similar answers. They both have competed in other leadership contests and are
conducting more public speaking. By participating in freshman creed speaking
they have both grown and gained more leadership abilities. By competing in the
creed speaking contest both contestants were able to learn such a valuable part
of the National FFA organization. Mr. McGown’s
interview was a little different. I was not able to ask him the same questions
for the most part because I thought they were geared more towards students
rather than a teacher/ FFA advisor. I still had the privilege to ask him well
defined and serious questions. He answered them to the best ability he could
and it lead me to the conclusion that he agreed that the FFA creed is a very
special part to the FFA organization.All the questions
I asked got me more and more excited to one day share my passion about the FFA
with others. By participating in this contest itself I was able to relate with
the people I interviewed. I was able to understand what they were saying to
most questions and feel the same way about the FFA creed that they do.