Citlali Calixto’s family and her wonderful agriculture teacher.
“Today is going to be a great day” is something Citali Calixto said to herself on her first day of school as a freshman in Weld Central High School in Colorado.
This saying comes from her dad. Whenever Calixto was a little girl, she would always ask her hardworking Mexican immigrant parents. After they came back home from their back-aching jobs, they would always respond with, “Good.” Calixto realized that not all days can be good, and she once asked her parents, “No way that every day was a good day. Why do you say that every day was a great day?” Her dad gave a little laugh and told her, “I will always have a good day because I am in great health and I can provide for my family.”
At the time, Calixto was brand new to the school and joined an agriculture class by accident because her brother wasn’t specific enough about what it was about. On the first day she walked into the agriculture classroom, she was greeted by a passionate ag teacher named Mrs. Madsen. Calixto didn’t know what she was getting herself into as soon as Mrs. Madsen introduced the FFA Creed.
“She has never been into public speaking, but after she started, she was determined to win the FFA Creed,” Calixto says.
As Calixto got more passionate about winning the FFA Creed speaking competition, she felt alone; she had no one to help with her competition, as many of her other classmates did. Even when she walked into the first chapter meeting, her pumpkin painting social, she painted her pumpkin alone. Everyone else had their groups and already knew people from the chapter because they either had family members or friends that were already in the FFA chapter. As she left her first meeting, she felt no connection or spark toward this organization, but she still persevered and really thought that she could do more with this organization.
As we spoke more, Calixto told me that when she barely started, her goals were to win her FFA Creed competition and to win all of her competitions. She says that she has such a competitive spirit, but after she started winning more, she started to realize that she needed to be more in the moment and to stay present.
“I was so worried about winning all the time that I totally forgot about being in the moment,” she says.
Calixto achieved her first goal of winning the FFA Creed competition in the chapter level, and she next competed in districts, where she got third. She went home devastated that she didn’t win. Her parents told her, “You can’t be good at everything that we do,” instead of telling her she would do better next time.
“Well, as you know, that’s how we were raised — to always know the hard truth, which, overall, made me a stronger person,” Calixto says.
One of her biggest challenges was being first-generation FFA member. “You know, I didn’t have the same resources as the other peers had,” she says. “Some of them would have their parents or someone that they know was deeply involved in FFA and has a background.”
Calixto’s parents saw that it discouraged her a little bit and supported her with every step she took. They didn’t know what they got themselves into, but they did it to support their daughter in something that she seemed very passionate about. Calixto took the responsibility into her own hands to find her own resources because no one else was going to do it for her.
As Calixto started to feel more confident in FFA, she started to succeed in her own ways. She made it to nationals twice for the National FFA Agriscience Fair, held chapter offices and was elected as the District 14 president. This year, she gets to serve as the executive committee for the Colorado FFA State Officer Team.
Lastly, what Calixto wants to do for Colorado FFA is to start having more diversity and let people know that you can join FFA and accomplish amazing things. “I know that being a first-gen can be intimidating, but it makes us stronger,” she says.
Calixto has influenced and inspired FFA members around Colorado and the nation, and continues to do just that.
