The first time I met Terrell High School senior and Future Farmers of America (FFA) member, Kendall Lopez, I knew this was a young lady who was going places. Kendall was leading a group of the district’s Silver Tigers on a tour of the high school’s Career and Technical Education building. She was sharply dressed in her FFA uniform and spoke with confidence. More importantly she looked people in the eye and had a firm handshake - a tell tale sign of a young woman with goals and ambitions.
When I sat down to interview her a few weeks later and asked her if she always wanted to be a member of FFA you can imagine my surprise when she replied “I didn’t even know what FFA was until my freshman year.” Her answer gave us both a good laugh.
As a freshman, Kendall was initially interested in the auto-mechanics pathway; however, one of the pre-requisite classes for the pathway was Principles of Agriculture. She enrolled in the course and was subsequently invited to attend her first FFA meeting. “I attended my first meeting and immediately felt included,” she shared. “I felt at home. It was like a big family.”
Like others across the nation, Kendall was part of the cohort of students who returned to school full time during the COVID pandemic. She shared that being a part of FFA during her freshman year gave her purpose and she looked forward to attending school.
As her sophomore year began, Kendall decided she wanted to show her first animal and that fall she acquired a lamb whom she named “Mr. Lambchops.” “If I am being honest it was overwhelming at first,” she said. “It required a lot of structure. I had to learn how to manage my time because he had to be fed and walked twice a day. I had to change his bedding and wash him once a week. It was a lot, but I was determined to figure it out.”
Her determination to succeed was also noticed by her peers and that year she was elected to serve as FFA Secretary.
When I asked her what she thought that first year of showing taught her she didn’t hesitate to answer. “One day during my sophomore year I had this epiphany and it clicked in my head,” she said. “I realized that no one was going to do this hard work for me and I had to do it myself. After that it was easy.”
As she entered her junior year, Kendall became even more involved in FFA and was elected to serve as chaplain. This was also the year she realized that she was born to help others. She began taking classes to become a Certified Medical Assistant through the district’s partnership with Trinity Valley Community College.
Now a senior, Kendall is serving as the FFA Parliamentarian and is working with her next show animal - a Cross Pig named “Baconator.” And yes, I laughed out loud when she shared his name. She told me that pigs are much more difficult to maintain and manage, but that she welcomed the new challenge with open arms.
Since joining the FFA nearly four years ago, Kendall has attended numerous leadership camps and state conventions. “There’s two sides to FFA - the animal side and the leadership side,” she shared. In addition to showing animals she has learned about politics and lobbying. She credits having to constantly give presentations in front of her peers as the reason her speaking skills have dramatically improved.
As we closed out the interview I asked Kendall what she would like to impress upon other students who are considering joining FFA to which she replied, “You have everything to gain and nothing to lose. All of the skills I have learned in high school will carry me for the rest of my life.”
No truer words were ever spoken, Ms. Lopez.