Pictured above are the Odessa FFA and agriscience team members and advisors. From left to right: Jeffrey Billings, Kalena Diaz, Joseph Delaney, Zachary Binnie, Nathaniel Sutton, Keith Schmid and Kara Kochis.
Over the past three years, the Odessa FFA Chapter ENVIROTHON team has developed a passion through one of the most competitive environmental science competitions in the nation.
In 2023, the team first competed in the FFA Environmental Science and Natural Resources Career Development Event. For the Delaware FFA Association, this career development event (CDE) coincided with the state ENVIROTHON. These events allowed the team to understand soil sciences, forestry, aquatic and wildlife ecology, and air quality, and how these topics relate to agricultural systems.
After earning a gold ranking at the National FFA Convention & Expo, the team developed a passion for environmental advocacy. Team member Zachary Binnie said, “We began to understand the value behind our work and what we were learning. This all started with a career development event, but we ultimately decided to come back and work to expand our knowledge areas for the state ENVIROTHON.”
Their journey wasn’t easy. It began with a shared curiosity about natural resource management. Weekly, the team gathered after school, working to understand topics ranging from soil composition and forestry to aquatics and wildlife ecology. Keith Schmid, the team’s forestry lead, said, “Each year, they came closer to winning and began to place higher. It was really cool being confident in our answers to content questions because we knew we were on the right track.” The team worked closely, examined case studies, and even spent time in the field applying their knowledge hands-on.
This year, all that growth came full circle.
Not only did the Odessa FFA team win, breaking a 22-year winning streak, but they also demonstrated what career and leadership development events (CDEs and LDEs) are about: building real-world skills that prepare FFA members for life beyond the classroom. Through the ENVIROTHON, these students developed skills in critical thinking, collaboration, public speaking and problem-solving while tackling real environmental issues.
“Every time we competed, we learned something new. Not just about the environment, but about how we work under pressure, how we lead, and how to lift each other up when things don’t go as planned,” said team member Joseph Delaney.
The team earned a variety of awards, including the opportunity to represent Delaware at the international ENVIROTHON contest, located in Alberta, Canada, in July 2025.
For Odessa FFA, this win was more than a trophy. It was a testament to the power of perseverance, mentorship, and the opportunities CDEs provide. Competing helped these students discover their passions and opened doors to careers in conservation, agriculture and science.
As chapters across the country gear up for upcoming local, state and national competitions, Odessa’s story reminds us that success often comes from the quiet work done long before the spotlight. Every FFA member has the potential to rise to set new standards for success with the right mindset and support.
