Reprint from the Progress Times - September 5, 2008
©Progress Times 2008 - All Rights Reserved

 

Veterans students earn state recognition

 

By Ricky Reynoso

Three Veterans Memorial High School (VMHS) students received the state’s highest Future Farmers of America (FFA) honor, the Lone Star Degree.  Jessica Guerrero, Clarissa Farias and Kristina Rivera were awarded the degree this summer, according to FFA advisor, Ruben Alaniz, the award is representative of their years of hard work.

“They have to keep log books of all their activities. They have to do volunteer work and community service,” Alaniz said.  “But it teaches them so much.  People think FFA is just about farming, but we do a lot of leadership training with the kids and help them with things like public speaking and debate.  They went through an application process and were picked by the state.”

With gold pendants dangling from their blue corduroy jackets, Guerrero and Farias described how the FFA program has helped them become better students.

“I used to get real nervous talking in situations like this,” Guerrero said.  “But we’ve done creed speaking where we go in front of judges and recite our creed.  It’s taught me important life skills and really helped me out.  I still get nervous, but not as badly.”

Farias credits FFA with allowing her the opportunity to grow and meet new people.

“I got to go in front of the district and make a speech and it helped me be more brave and not so nervous,” Farias said.  “I’ve met many friends and it’s opened a lot of doors.”

Guerrero said one of the more challenging aspects of earning the degree was keeping track of all the documentation.

“It’s kind of hard sometimes to keep up with certain things, especially when you have an animal,” Guerrero said.  “Every single thing you buy them and everything they need, you have to keep a record of.  You think, ‘oh, I’ll just write it down later.’  But you have to be responsible and do it.”

Farias added that scheduling time for other extracurricular activities is difficult to do when caring for an animal.

“It’s tough because I’m in swimming and I make time for that, but I also have to make time to take care of my animal,” Farias said.  “So I have to make my own schedule and I tell my coach that I have to leave at a certain time and then I’ll go home and work on my animal because they need just as much attention as any other sport or activity.”

In addition to the honors brought to VMHS by Guerrero, Farias and Rivera, Lora Gonzalez, a VMHS graduate currently attending Texas A&M University, currently serves as a state officer for FFA.

“That’s also a very prestigious award because we have over 65,000 FFA members in our state, and only 10 are chosen to be officers,” Alaniz said.  “Mission hasn’t had an officer since the sixties, so it’s exciting to know that we have someone there representing us.”

Farias said she felt especially proud of Gonzalez because they are cousins.

“This year I actually got to meet the state officers because of Lora, so that was really exciting,” Farias said.  “She represents our school, our district and our area so I’m really proud of her.”