After he retired from teaching, Roger Carr (second from right) helped Central Noble FFA prepare for the Denver meats evaluation career development event. Photo courtesy of Roger Carr.
A high school guidance counselor once told Roger Carr he wasn’t college material — but Carr didn’t let that stop him. He attended Black Hawk East junior college, then graduated from Southern Illinois University with a degree in agricultural education.
From there, Carr spent 38 years teaching agriculture at three different school districts in Illinois and Indiana. His career included earning the 3-Star National Chapter Award recognition 14 years in a row, and he worked as a livestock judging coach at Purdue University for one year.
We recently chatted with Carr about the impactful experiences and lessons that shaped his FFA involvement — and his encouragement to those figuring out what their future holds.
Q: When did you decide to be an agriculture teacher?
A: I didn’t know what to study. I signed up for agricultural education because I was told it was the easiest agriculture degree to get. While student teaching, I gravitated to these five livestock students and started a livestock judging team.
These students had never judged before and had never given a set of reasons [or judging justifications], but after one month, we attended the Western Illinois Livestock Judging contest and competed against all the big-time Illinois 4-H and FFA teams. We won the reasons division, and I knew what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.
Q: What award or recognition meant the most to you during your time as an FFA advisor?
A: I’ve been blessed with many. I was honored to be president of the Indiana Agriculture Teachers Association and receive numerous other awards. At the end of the day, awards make great memories, but they do not define me. My greatest honor is staying in touch with former students and building alliances with other agriculture teachers and industry leaders [I met] during my teaching career.
In 2024, Carr (far left) helped Whitko FFA earn reserve national champion in a career development competition held during the 97th National FFA Convention & Expo. Photo courtesy of Roger Carr.
Q: What advice would you give to FFA members who may be unsure what career path to pursue?
A: Thirty percent of the jobs or careers they will be entering have not been created yet. So, how do we prepare for unknown careers? I believe teaching communication skills, problem-solving and critical-thinking skills will benefit all — and if there is an organization that does a better job at that than FFA, I’ve never witnessed it. If youth work hard, set high goals, expect a lot from themselves and can be a team player, they will be very successful in life.
Q: What would you say to an FFA member who is unsure if they can succeed in college?
A: You will never know until you try. If you fail at something, you learn from it. Most successful people have made many mistakes. But not everyone has to go to college. I’m a big fan of trade schools and junior colleges. I also had lots of students who went into the military, and I applaud them.
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