Sharing the Ladder

Success is often described as climbing a ladder.

You work hard, reach the top and move on to the next challenge.

For some, that’s where the story ends.

For Sammi Selliers, it’s where another one begins.

Instead of climbing the ladder and pulling it up behind her, Selliers waits. She reaches back, steadies each rung and invites someone else to climb alongside her. Then, together, they climb higher.

The former Coalinga FFA member has built an impressive résumé since graduating, earning scholarships, securing internships, launching agricultural initiatives, advocating for farmers’ mental health and travelling around the world. Yet ask those who know her what makes her stand out, and they’ll likely tell you something different.

She shares what she learns.

Whether she’s reviewing scholarship applications, answering late-night questions from FFA members or encouraging students to apply for opportunities they never thought they could earn, Selliers has become the kind of mentor she once needed herself.

“As an FFA Alumni, I know how to transition from FFA to the adult world,” Selliers said. “I also, thanks to the FFA, have had so many opportunities after graduation such as scholarships and internships.”

Those opportunities have been remarkable. From earning a $10,000 Tractor Supply Company scholarship to preparing for an educational experience in Croatia, Selliers has embraced opportunities that once seemed out of reach. Yet she believes those accomplishments carry the most value when they inspire someone else to pursue their own.

That philosophy has shaped nearly everything she has built since graduating.

In 2023, Selliers founded One Farmer at a Time, an initiative dedicated to raising awareness about farmer mental health and suicide awareness. What began as an idea has grown into a recognized movement, earning acknowledgment from the California State Assembly and expanding with the launch of its own website.

She also leads My FFA Experience, a social media platform that shares educational content, relatable moments and a behind-the-scenes look at agriculture. As one of two leaders overseeing a team of 13 interns, Selliers helps create content that informs, encourages and connects agriculturalists across the country.

Although the projects focus on different audiences, they are rooted in the same mission: helping others succeed.

Her source of encouragement, coming from her parents and other mentors. “They have backed and supported some of my crazy ideas,” Selliers noted. 

Now, she hopes to be that same source of encouragement for someone else.

When challenges arise, Selliers relies on the determination that has carried her through every opportunity she’s pursued.

“When things get tough I always take a 15 minute break and then think about how to get to my future goals and plans I need to do to make this work.”

For Selliers, mentoring others isn’t a responsibility that comes after success, it has become part of what success means.

“FFA doesn’t fully end when you graduate,” she said. “It’s community service and more.”

While many view graduation as the closing chapter of their FFA journey, Selliers sees it as the beginning of a new role. Instead of competing in career development events or applying for scholarships herself, she now invests her time helping others navigate those same opportunities. Every scholarship application she completes becomes advice she can share. Every internship becomes another story that encourages someone else to apply. Every lesson she learns becomes one fewer obstacle for the students following behind her.

Looking back, Selliers credits FFA with shaping the person she is today.

“It’s given me real life skills and passions that have directed future plans and given me opportunities,” she said.

That perspective also shapes the advice she gives to members who wonder whether they can make a difference.

“Even if you come from a small chapter and you might think what you do doesn’t make an impact it does,” Selliers said.

The scholarships, internships and recognition tell one part of Sammi Selliers’ story.

The students she encourages tell another.

Long after the contests are over and the blue jacket is hung in the closet, Selliers continues climbing, not to get farther ahead, but to make sure no one has to make the journey alone.

Because the strongest leaders aren’t remembered for how quickly they reached the top.

They’re remembered for how many people they helped climb with them.