University FFA Alumna Gina Tran. Photo by Behold Photography, Lori Sadler.
Although Gina Tran had no exposure to agriculture while growing up in Orlando, Fla., she had an affinity for animals. In high school, Tran signed up for a veterinary assisting class and was invited to join the University FFA Chapter.
Tran loved the idea of leaving campus for field trips to local agricultural enterprises, but was unsure about joining FFA at first. Her parents, who immigrated to the U.S. from Vietnam, had the perception that agriculture was for those who were less educated or came from lower socioeconomic backgrounds due to their culture. Tran also worried about how she’d overcome her shyness to participate in activities.
“I’ve got to give credit to all my advisors,” she says. “They saw potential in me, even though I was very quiet and nervous.”
University FFA and the Florida State Fair Youth Steer Futurity program exposed Tran to production agriculture, and she fell in love with cattle ranching. She participated in livestock judging, meat judging and other Career Development Events (CDEs) through FFA before completing an animal science degree at the University of Florida. After graduation, Tran interned on ranches in Florida and Texas, where she learned how to ride a horse, work cattle and run a ranch.
“Of all the jobs I shadowed and looked at in agriculture, nothing really spoke to me outside of doing things with boots on the ground like working on a ranch,” she says.
Interning on several cattle ranches helped Gina Tran (center) find her chosen career path in agriculture. Photo by Knox Kronenberg.
Finding Common Ground Through Conversation
During the time she spent interning at Buck Island Ranch, a 10,500-acre working cattle ranch in Florida, Tran met Mary-Margaret Hardee, the ranch’s operations assistant. As the pair called and Snapchatted each other to talk about their days, they discovered shared challenges they faced as women in ranching roles.
“We knew women everywhere dealt with this stuff, but nobody talked about it,” Tran says. “We wished there was a way women could share what they struggled with and be transparent and open about it.”
In January 2024, Tran and Hardee launched the “Herding Her Story” podcast. Engaging in conversations about the trials and tribulations women in agriculture experience has helped Tran realize something powerful about her place in agriculture.
“At the time when I was an FFA member, I don’t think the industry was ready to have conversations about people who didn’t come from an agricultural background,” Tran says. “We’ve now transitioned into understanding it’s going to take people outside of the industry to push it forward.”
Carve Your Path
If you love working with and learning about animals, consider competing in the Livestock Evaluation or Meats Evaluation and Technology CDEs. You can also turn your interests into a beef production or diversified livestock Supervised Agricultural Experience.
