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On Friday, October 16, 2020, two Pennsylvania State FFA officers came to visit the local Grand Canyon FFA chapter at Wellsboro High School. Cody Lehman (State FFA Vice President) and Cheyenne Bastian-Brown (State FFA Treasurer) came into each of the Agricultural related classes, taught by Melanie Berndtson, and presented to the students about FFA and taught some interactive lessons about agriculture. As state officers, they wanted to get to know the members of the local chapter on a deeper level.

Cody Lehman is a graduate from Central Columbia High School. He plans to attend The Pennsylvania State University for Plant Science. Cheyenne Bastian-Brown is a graduate from Canton High School. She plans to attend The Pennsylvania State University as well, but for Agricultural Extension and Education. In order to become a state officer, one must run for a candidacy at the end of his/her senior year or one year after high school graduation, and if accepted, the time in that office acts as a gap year. The interviews and selection process is a time consuming and intense process. So these two state officers worked very hard to get where they are today.

As state officers these FFA members have some additional duties but they also still carry out projects that regular members conduct. Cheyenne and Cody have a variety of SAE projects. A Supervised Agriculture Experience (SAE) is a project students complete as part of their agricultural science classes. Students plan projects to help them learn more about agriculture outside of class time. They keep records on these projects. There are different types of SAEs, such as entrepreneurship, placement, research, and foundational. A student’s SAE project(s) can consist of things such as raising and showing beef cattle at the fair, working at a horse barn, selling duck eggs, gardening in the greenhouse, and more. The state officers have numerous SAE projects, helping them gain experience in the world of agriculture as well as helping them reach their goals of life.

The Grand Canyon FFA chapter enjoyed hosting Cody and Cheyenne for the day helping to build connections with the FFA members at Wellsboro High School and teaching them some life lessons in the process! If you would like to learn any more about the officers or just Pennsylvania FFA, please visit www.paffa.org.