Age: 18
Parents: John and Dawn Miller
Hometown: Walnut Grove, Mo.
FFA Chapter: Walnut Grove FFA
What is your involvement in agriculture?
“My dad has milked cows his whole life on our small dairy farm. When I was younger, I mostly did the bottle calves, watered, fed grain and cleaned stalls. Now that I have gotten older, I’ve taken on more responsibility, like milking by myself and helping Dad; I guess you could say I have more ‘grown up’ responsibilities around the farm now. I used to resent farming and chores, but as I have gotten older and involved in FFA, I’ve realized the importance and started to like it a lot more.”
What has your FFA experience been like?
“I’m the Area 10 president this year, and I was pretty surprised and humbled by it. I actually wasn’t going to be in FFA because all my older siblings were in it and were active, but not very active. I just didn’t want to be like them and even though I grew up on the farm too, I really didn’t think it was for me. My mom said just to do it and my first day of class hooked me. I love public speaking and that’s gotten me out of my comfort zone, and I have loved every minute of it. I’ve gotten to go a lot of places through FFA and it has been the best part of high school.”
What are some of your achievements through FFA?
“My freshman year, in the spring, I got first at area in public speaking and I really wasn’t expecting it. Last year, I was the chairman of our Parliamentary Procedure team, and we got sixth at state.”
What are your future plans? Do they involve agriculture?
“I always want to be involved in agriculture in some way. Being in FFA has put in perspective for me how many people we have to feed and how much we have to learn, and how important it is to get younger generations to learn and grow. I just want to be part of that process.”
