One Class Changed Everything: Agricultural Education
Beau Newport, Meeker FFA.
As I look back to August 2023, I would have never guessed this was what I was going to end up doing for my high school career. I was enrolling for my eighth grade year, and I found out that my first hour class was agricultural education.
I was not impressed whatsoever, and I remember trying to get my mom to change my schedule. She told me I had to stick it out at least until Christmas. I’ve always been involved in athletics, so basketball and baseball were the first things on my list. I wasn’t quite sure what I was going to do in an ag class. I was devastated. This was literally the last thing I wanted; I thought “How could they do this to me?”
I showed up to school the first day and reluctantly sat down in the first available seat. All of a sudden, Mr. Johns, the advisor, was telling us stuff I hadn’t heard of before in my life, but I fell in love with everything that was being said. Shortly after school began, I developed an injury in my knee, and was unable to play basketball that season. Heartbroken, I joined an opening and closing ceremonies team. I had nothing else better to do, so I memorized some lines and went to competitions on my crutches, and by that point I was all in. Two years later, I found myself wanting to be a part of an organization bigger than myself.
My ag teachers were extremely supportive of me starting my own magazine business, which is my agricultural communications Supervised Agricultural Experience. It has led me to more opportunities and to meet new people who I wouldn’t have met if I didn’t join FFA. My magazine, Gaining Ground, publishes stories from students across the state of Oklahoma and highlights what youth are doing in agriculture today. Serving as Meeker FFA reporter, FFA in the USA reporter, and Gaining Ground editor/owner has given me the opportunity to tell the stories of so many who are making a difference in agriculture.
This spring, I was sponsored by Oklahoma Farm Bureau to send out a magazine copy to every single FFA chapter in the state of Oklahoma. This shows the types of relationships and connections that FFA offers. Because of the blue jacket, I have made so many friends and memories that would not have been possible without the people who believed in me.
While I still love sports, I have realized that without agriculture, we cannot continue to provide for the people of the world. Agricultural education has brought me insight into what life would be like if the farmers of America did not continue to feed the people of the world. Because of FFA, we can continue to teach the younger generations what it takes to keep the world going, one step at a time.
Meeker FFA members attending national convention in 2025.
