In the Rockcastle County FFA Chapter in Kentucky, three members met through the National FFA Organization and became unlikely friends. This is not an uncommon occurrence for many FFA members. FFA has been an outlet for making new friends and discovering new passions for FFA members everywhere. 

Senior FFA members Kayla Miller, Cailee Mullins and Ally Hayes knew of one another before high school, but never really talked to each other. During their freshman year of high school in Mr. Mink’s introduction to agriculture class, they sat together and connected. FFA brought their friendship closer by allowing a space where they can freely show their personalities and become vocal around others. Teamwork is a major element in FFA that has helped pull them closer by putting them in situations that require communication, which is needed for friendships to remain successful. 

For these three friends, partaking in parliamentary procedure during their freshman year of high school brought them closer through teamwork. Their mutual desire to succeed  in this competition brought them closer, not only as members of their FFA chapter, but as friends.

“Mr. Mink puts such an emphasis on having fun,” Miller says. “There’s this sign in his room and it says ‘Walk in wanting, walk out winning.’” Without their willingness to do their best and the support of their advisors, they wouldn’t have grown so closely together through this experience.

FFA has left a lasting impression on these friends in ways that have inspired them to influence the younger members of their FFA chapter. Hayes recalls the impact past Rockcastle FFA member Emma Ballinger had on her. “She was so involved in everything,” says Hayes, who still reflects on these memories and strives to leave the same impact on the younger members of her FFA chapter.

Both of Miller’s sisters, Pamela and Holly, were involved in FFA. Miller did not want to join FFA for the fear of being known from association. She made the decision that FFA would be her thing not because of her sisters’ involvement, but hers. “I want them to see that FFA is not whoever has been here before,” Miller says.

Mullins wants to leave behind the message that FFA, besides being serious, can be fun, too. During certain times, your chapter needs certain things. For these members and many others like them, FFA is more than just an organization; it is a beacon of friendship and love.