Meet the teen breaking stereotypes and building a future rooted in agriculture.
Connor Graham is a sophomore member of the Galatia FFA Chapter in southern Illinois. He is the treasurer in his chapter and has become popular on social media. Graham exemplifies his passion every day with the stories he tells.
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Graham’s agricultural communications Supervised Agricultural Experience (SAE) involves sharing the stories of many FFA members around the country. His Instagram page, @corduroy.conversations, has different themes for students and educators throughout the week, such as “SAE Spotlight Sunday” and “Teacher Tuesday.” These posts acknowledge the work and contributions of members in their chapters and states.
In addition, he networks with FFA members from all across the nation. This ensures different types of people are represented and promotes agricultural literacy to the general public.
Through his SAE, Graham has gained friends from Maine to Hawaii and values every conversation he has. Furthermore, his motivation is the people themselves and the impact he intends to leave on them. His goals include creating an outreach to connect different people, sharing the stories of many and building a connection to agriculture and leadership.
“I do what I do because I know the future of agriculture is literally in the hands of young agriculturists,” says Graham.
He believes everyone has a passion inside of them waiting to be sparked. All it takes is the right person and moment to do so, and Graham offers that to hundreds of youth nationwide.
On his journey, his passion has helped him gain skills in public speaking, communication and problem-solving. These abilities have not only been a personal benefit — they also help him advocate and educate others.
