Ferguson College of Agriculture

Each May, blue corduroy jackets flood the streets of Tulsa, Oklahoma, during the Oklahoma FFA State Convention. For years, students and faculty in the Department of Agricultural Education, Communications and Leadership at Oklahoma State University have traveled to the convention to play a small role in the event’s success.

OSU students serve in many different roles throughout the event. This May, 14 agricultural communications students worked in the newsroom to help provide media coverage of the event. Jill Meador, an agricultural communications student, served on the photography team for the event, she explained. Meador, a former FFA member herself, shared helping photograph the event allowed her to capture what FFA means for so many individuals.

“I am here to capture what FFA means not only for myself, but for thousands of other FFA students,” Meador said.

Throughout the event, Meador worked to capture all the emotion students were experiencing, from competing to earning their state degrees, and everything in between, she explained. In addition to photographing the event, Meador shared how special it was to see the Ferguson College of Agriculture being represented at the State FFA Convention. She explained she learned about the agricultural communications program at OSU from speaking to a college representative when she attended the event as an FFA member.

“The impact Oklahoma State has at the convention is huge,” Meador said. “We don’t just represent at the expo; there are so many people working behind the scenes.”

Though agricultural communications students and faculty have been a part of the State FFA Convention newsroom for many years, they are not the only AECL presence. Agricultural education students and faculty play an active role in the event, too.

This year, six agricultural education faculty members attended convention to speak with current FFA students and agricultural science teachers about the AECL department. Additionally, multiple agricultural education students volunteered to work the event.

Jayce Jaresh, an agricultural education student, volunteered as an intern at the event, he explained. Throughout convention, he assisted with behind-the-scenes details, he shared. Jaresh mentioned one of his favorite aspects of the event was seeing students from across the state come together to celebrate at the convention concert night.

“As an out-of-state student, getting to intern for the Oklahoma FFA State Convention allowed me to have a better understanding of my future career as an agricultural education student,” Jaresh said.

To learn more about the OSU Department of Agricultural Education, Communications and Leadership, or how to get involved, visit the website.