Camas County FFA member Logan Schofield was born with multiple birth defects, rendering him nonverbal, blind in one eye and bound to a wheelchair. But that hasn’t stopped the Idaho chapter from helping Schofield fully experience FFA.
A junior at Camas County High School, Schofield and his two brothers, Max (ninth grade) and Xander (seventh grade), all participate in the school’s agriculture program led by first-year agriculture teacher and FFA advisor Riely Geritz.
“I have a background working with people with disabilities, and I feel strongly that agriculture programs should be completely inclusive,” Geritz says. “It isn’t always easy, but with a combination of support from his incredible paraprofessional, Sharon Kepford, deliberate conversations, and trying new things, Logan is able to be part of our class and get the objective out of hands-on assignments. His classmates have made that happen; they work to include him, fight over who gets to sit by him and talk to him about his favorite TV shows.”
Schofield’s care team noticed he enjoys smelling different scents and realized an opportunity for a one-of-a-kind supervised agricultural experience (SAE).
“His family uses lavender to relax him, and you can tell by his actions when he likes the way something smells,” Geritz says. “His favorite scents are lavender and orange.”
Schofield’s paraprofessional educator found a recipe for bath bombs and helped Schofield mix the ingredients to make them for his SAE. Fellow FFA members jumped onboard, creating natural body products including lip balms, foot and hand scrubs, bath salts, soaps and hand sanitizers to be included in Schofield’s SAE, which they named For the Love of Logan. The products are sold and the proceeds are given to Schofield’s family for his medical expenses.
“We began selling them at our town’s Christmas tree lighting in December 2019, and by mid-January, we’d already sold $500 worth of products,” Geritz says. “It’s been a great way for our members to learn skills and show compassion, which they can use in their future careers.”
For more information about the products, contact Geritz at rgeritz@camascountyschools.org.
