INDIANAPOLIS – This spring has looked a bit different for teachers across the country. That hasn’t stopped them from doing their jobs and continuing to advocate for their students and the subjects they believe in.

This summer, 82 agricultural education teachers are taking their passion for agriculture and sharing their story to local communities and beyond as part of the National Teachers Ambassadors for FFA program.

“Our ambassadors play an important role for us, not only by sharing information out in the field but also by sharing with us the challenges our teachers and advisers face every day,” said Christine White, chief program officer for the National FFA Organization. “Through this program we hope to equip teachers with the tools they need to be successful in not only developing future leaders but also in telling their stories.”

The program, which began in 2016, provides teachers with the tools to share information about FFA with their communities. Ambassadors will present multiple workshops and work with teachers from across the country to brainstorm and share ideas.

Nine such ambassadors are from the Farm World readership area, including Kristan Wright, ag teacher and FFA advisor at Seneca High School in Louisville, Ky. Hers is the only agricultural education program in urban Jefferson County. In her decade at the helm, only one student has come from a farming background.

“The knowledge gap can be a challenge,” Wright said, “but sometimes that means the students are hungrier to learn. That’s one of the really fun parts of my job, watching students grow in their knowledge and getting excited about stuff they don’t see on a normal basis. I think it’s really important to teach agriculture in urban settings and educate people who are far from the farm.”

Logan Layne, a teacher of equine science at Locust Trace Agriscience Center in Lexington, Ky., is among the tri-state’s FFA ambassadors.

Indiana’s lone National Teacher Ambassador is Carlee Pickering, of South Henry School Corporation in Straughn.

 “I have a strong passion for helping others,” said Pickering, a third-year ag teacher at South Henry with seven years in the classroom. “Being an educator Ambassador for National FFA has helped branch new connections outside of my state and how different educating students about agriculture can be throughout the country. This program has not only helped me outside of my classroom but has helped me as an educator as well with facilitation, communication and classroom management.”

Pickering grew up outside of Lebanon, Ind., and horses have been her passion her entire life. She engaged in FFA for five years and was a Boone County 4-H member for 10 years. She actively participates in barrel racing and rodeo with the International Professional Rodeo Association.

“There are so many enjoyable moments about being an ag teacher, but my favorite is being able to show a student something new and having it stick with them,” she said. “I’m highly passionate about my students being educated consumers and love providing the knowledge for them to be able to do so.”

FFA ambassadors from Michigan include Jennifer Glombowski, an agriscience instructor at Muskegon Area Career Tech Center in Spring Lake, and Victoria Yackle, FFA advisor at Bad Axe Public Schools in Bad Axe. Yackle began teaching at Bad Axe in 2015 when the FFA program there was re-established.

“The National FFA Organization has definitely evolved since its start in 1928,” Yackle said. “This organization is no longer just for farmers. Anyone can benefit from being involved with this organization. I’m going to tell people that whether you want to be a doctor, lawyer, teacher or anything else you can imagine that FFA can teach you how to a stronger person and build your confidence in areas like public speaking, presenting in front of a group, running a meeting using parliamentary procedure or even with a job interview. The opportunities in the FFA are endless.”

FFA ambassadors from Ohio include Stephanie Jolliff. Ag Ed Teacher and FFA Advisor for Ridgemont Schools in Mt. Victory, and Derek McCracken, Ag Educator at Houston High School in Houston.

McCracken, who began teaching at Houston High in 2014, said he would like to “empower each student to reach their full potential by providing them with unique and meaningful experiences and outside the classroom.”

Five years ago, McCracken empowered his students to build a new greenhouse at the school. “I saw a challenge, the need to help my students see and understand the role agriculture plays in our daily lives and how they can profit from it,” McCracken said. “The students and I saw the greenhouse as a great resource that will benefit everyone and offer opportunity to all ages in K-12. It’s my belief in the future of agriculture with a faith born not out of words, but of deeds.”

Ambassadors from Illinois include Cassie Perrin, second-year ag teacher at Brownstown High School in Brownstown, and Erin Ruiz, a sixth-year ag teacher at Meridian High School in Mounds.

“I will tell college ag students that they are about to start the single most rewarding job they could ever have,” Ruiz said. “I’ll tell them to make time for yourself because though FFA is fun, educational and exciting it is also time-consuming, busy and will test that procrastinator that still lurks inside of you.”

 Tennessee’s Ambassadors include Jessica Brown, Terra Davis, Jason Dossett and Ryan Inman. Iowa’s lone Ambassador is Bridget Mahoney.