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Local FFA Programs Prepare Students for Real-World Success
Story by Laz Denes
In the 97 years since the founding of Future Farmers of America, the organization has turned out millions of well-rounded students. The FFA programs at Chesterfield County’s Cheraw and McBee high schools are thriving examples.
FFA prepares young people for careers by introducing them to the ways they can pursue the organization’s foundational goal of feeding the population. Far beyond nurturing the life skills of future farmers, FFA has long provided a jump-start for chemists, veterinarians, entrepreneurs, international business leaders, teachers, and other agriculture professionals.
Jesse McGee, who heads the FFA program at Cheraw High, regularly sees his graduates pursue agriculture-related college majors. When asked about success stories, he remembers a student who earned an agricultural engineering degree at Clemson University and then went on to run a major sod farming enterprise between Cheraw and Bennettsville.
Ben Teal, Jesse’s counterpart at McBee High, is particularly proud of a former FFA member from his school who went straight to work after graduation. He now owns and operates a trucking company with a fleet of 18-wheelers. Ben is always quick to point out to his students that some of the most stable and lucrative careers don’t require a college degree.
“We stress basic, real-life skills like plumbing and electrical, landscaping, and how to work on engines–– skills that can lead to really good careers in those fields,” says Ben, a McBee and Clemson grad. Ben’s “other big-boy job” involves growing tobacco and row crops on his family farm. “Most kids are not going to be a production farmer like I am, but they very well might find a career in agriculture as a veterinarian, seed dealer, chemist, agricultural lawyer, or a lending agent who specializes in agriculture.”
Career Opportunities
Other students might not go into agriculture, but the skills they learn in classes guide them to careers as lineworkers because they liked the electricity components of the class, says Jesse, a Pageland native and Central High School graduate who earned his agricultural education degree from Clemson.
While both the McBee and Cheraw campuses offer a range of skills training within the FFA curriculum, each has its own unique pathway.
McBee’s specialty is agricultural mechanics, where students are immersed in hands-on shop work that includes construction, woodworking, plumbing, welding, metal fabrication, and the repair of farm equipment and small engines.
Horticulture is Cheraw’s focus, particularly greenhouse production. Among their many activities, Cheraw FFA students conduct annual spring and fall plant sales. They also produce plants for flower beds throughout the area, including accents for the town’s roadside welcome signs.
Ben and Jesse often field queries from area businesses and others looking for young talent to supplement their workforces. Local industrial plants, MAR-MAC Industries and A.O. Smith, routinely tap Ben to recommend McBee students to serve summer internships. Similarly, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service gives area students a head start on the pursuit of their career goals.
Developing Future Leaders
Students from both schools have also excelled in area, regional, and even national FFA competitions. Last school year, Cheraw’s Sara Dixon won first place in the National Young Farmer Educational Association Institute’s agricultural communications competition in New Mexico. That earned her a scholarship to attend the Agricultural Promise event in Washington, D.C. Sara and her fellow attendees met with their respective legislators on Capitol Hill and learned about lobbying for agricultural initiatives.
“The FFA puts a lot of emphasis on leadership development, like training students in public speaking,” Ben says. “1 day, they’re going to have to stand up in front of a group and talk. We see them cry when they first try to do it as ninth graders. But by the time they’re a senior, they’re seasoned, they’re comfortable, and it’s fulfilling to see that growth.”
Jesse wanted to be a game warden before pivoting to agricultural education prior to his freshman orientation at Clemson. He finds teaching life skills to high schoolers fulfilling.
“It’s just the best feeling to give kids the experiences we are able to, taking them places for the first time, a lot of them on their first trip on an airplane,” he says.
“We get great support from the community to help make these things happen, so we’re in a really good spot.”