Meet Blake Reed, a Reedley FFA student who is a Senior at Reedley High School.
“I joined FFA as a mistake. I joined it at my old school as a requirement. When I transferred to Reedley High School, just wanting an easy A in ag bio so I continued to take it at RHS. Sophomore year I joined Ag Chem thinking it was going to be easy and it was. But then Mrs. Taylor-Atkinson noticed I talked A LOT in her class. Instead of telling me to be quiet like other teachers would, she pulled me aside and asked me if I wanted to do public speaking competitions. Having nothing better to do, I said yes! This is where I fell in love with FFA. I started striding to become the best in my agriculture classes, making sure my knowledge of Ag went above and beyond to hopefully surprise Taylor.
This is when I realized I wanted to be an Ag Teacher. I’ve always wanted to be a teacher, but I could never figure out the subject. From then on, the love grew. I got my State Degree last year. FFA is more than a club to me. It’s a community, a family, the place where I found my why. The people in FFA welcome anyone with open arms and think no question is too dumb to answer. Everyone deserves to know how the world spins around (let me tell you, IT’S AGRICULTURE!). FFA is where I found my why and my future career. Future Blue Jacket wearers deserve the same and more opportunities than I was given during my time in FFA
Pearl is a Hampshire gilt. She is a very lively and energetic pig who LOVES to go for her afternoon walks. She’s always grunting at me when she sees me to let me know she is ready for her walk and to train for her big debut at the Fair.”