Arkansas FFA State President Josie Kelly found her passion for agriculture
MOUNTAIN HOME, ARK. – When it comes to FFA, few students are as invested in the 93-year-old youth organization as Josie Kelly of Mountain Home, Ark.
Josie is the Arkansas FFA State President and an agricultural education and crop science double major at University of Arkansas’ Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences. She is a recent graduate of Mountain Home High School.
Though she grew up around rodeos and even spent time on her family farm in Gainesville, Mo., Josie didn’t discover her passion for agriculture until she joined her high schools’ FFA chapter, citing her sister as a source of inspiration.
“My older sister was a huge role model for me,” Josie explained. “She got into FFA when she was in high school, which made me want to step into it. As soon as I did, I not only fell in love with showing livestock but with agriculture as a whole. It’s so diverse, and there’s something for everybody. You might see somebody who doesn’t quite fit the stereotype of a farmer or an agriculturalist, but everyone involved with FFA has a passion for the agricultural industry, which I think is really cool.”
Her sophomore year of high school, Josie was given the opportunity to attend the National FFA Convention in Indianapolis, Ind., an event that proved pivotal to her decision to pursue agricultural science as a profession.
“When I went, there was a sea of blue corduroy jackets from all over the states. You would go to the convention sessions and see the national officers on the stage giving examples of what leadership looks like. It was really inspiring. I decided at the convention that leadership was something I wanted to pursue, so throughout my three years of membership, I tried my hardest in all of my career development and leadership development contests and eventually made it to where I am today with the help of the people I surrounded myself with.”
“I, along with my team of five, interact with FFA members around the state, giving them opportunities to develop their leadership skills and helping them develop their service orientation. We help them become active with agriculture and equip them to advocate for it.”
— Josie Kelly
Three years of hard work and dedication ultimately led Josie to her current station as the president of Arkansas’ FFA association, a role that keeps her busy even as she begins her college career. As state president, Josie corresponds with youth around the state, acting as a mentor for students’ own journeys through the FFA program.
“I, along with my team of five, interact with FFA members around the state, giving them opportunities to develop their leadership skills and helping them develop their service orientation. We help them become active with agriculture and equip them to advocate for it.”
As a college student, Josie is passionate about both agricultural education and crop science, which has inspired her to pursue a double major in both degree tracks for her undergraduate years at the University of Arkansas.
“U of A has an amazing agriculture department. Being in FFA, I knew from when I joined and when I started getting more involved that I wanted to major in something involving agriculture. It started with crop science, but as I progressed through FFA, I thought that education was actually what I wanted to do.”
In the future, with both degrees under her belt, Josie wants to end up teaching agricultural science to Arkansas students, with an emphasis on crops.
“When I’m an agricultural educator, I would like to teach plant systems, though I would be equipped to teach all aspects of agricultural science”
Josie will serve as Arkansas FFA president until April 2022. She is in the University of Arkansas’ class of 2025.
