Two FFA members from area wrapping up ‘20-21 as state vice presidents
■ State FFA Convention being held in virtual format again. PAGE 3.
It’s been a year of learning for a pair of college freshmen from Imperial and Hayes Center, who are completing terms as FFA state vice presidents.
Jozie Schilke of the Imperial FFA chapter and Jakob Anderjaska of Hayes Center FFA will give their retiring addresses Friday afternoon during the 2021 State FFA Convention.
It’s the second year in a row the state convention is being held virtually.
Although that decision to go virtually a second year wasn’t exactly welcomed with open arms, both retiring state officers said it did provide them a chance to learn.
Both have had some busy days leading up to this week’s convention. As state officers, they helped set up the entire convention, along with help from interns and state advisors. They worked with the media company that is handling production and will record all of the convention sessions.
It was a year without chapter visits, Anderjaska said, all of which were done virtually.
“We had no in-state travel due to Nebraska Dept. of Education restrictions,” he said.
“So we had to rethink on how to do things,” he said.
For Schilke, the fact their visits were restricted led to new ideas they came up with like the Pathways to Careers Conference totally held online this year. The state officers learned how to create a fully functional website in planning for that conference, she said.
“Overall it was a pretty good year, especially with the year we had,” she said.
“I had real luck with the team we had,” she added.
Schilke said FFA Week in February was among the year’s highlights for her.
“It was completely different from what had normally been done,” she said.
Each of the state officers had to create a workshop to present virtually during FFA Week and FFA members across Nebraska could select their choices. Anderjaska’s workshop dealt with leadership styles. Schilke presented a workshop on confident speaking.
Others addressed empathy, time management, interview readiness and how to leave a legacy.
FFA Week also included contests for chapters. Points were awarded for posting photos, answering questions online and taking in the workshops.
Anderjaska said they had very good participation from the state’s active FFA chapters.
Both said they will leave their state offices with skills that will benefit them for a lifetime.
Anderjaska said he’s made a lot of connections the past year through his contacts with ag businesses and industry, which he called “a group of people I’ll never forget.”
Schilke said she really developed the skill of adaptability, especially with a year that included COVID.
“We had to adapt to what was thrown at us,” she said.
She also developed better communication skills and more confidence in herself, noting, “FFA made me test my skills and grow them.”
Anderjaska believes he is a better communicator and listener now after his year in state office. Developing his technological skills was at the top, which was forced on them with all the ZOOM meetings and online conferences.
Schilke, the daughter of Nick and Michelle Schilke of Imperial, is completing her freshman year at Fort Hays State University in Kansas, where her major is agronomy. Even before COVID, she planned to take her freshman courses online so she could live in Lincoln and meet her FFA state officer duties.
Anderjaska is finishing his freshman year at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He is an ag business major and will also be certified in sales.
Both have future plans to work in agriculture.
Anderjaska, the son of Joe and Brenda Anderjaska of Hayes Center, said agriculture has given him so much after being raised on a farm. He doesn’t know yet exactly where his career path will take him, but he knows it’s a huge industry and “impacts everything in the world.”
“I want to continue to advocate for agriculture. I also want to find an area where I can help people, especially farmers and ranchers,” he said.
Schilke said she wants to return to the Imperial area someday to open her own field scouting business. She, too, was raised on a farm.
Nebraska has 200 FFA chapters with more than 10,000 members.
Watch their retiring
addresses on Friday
Both Schilke and Anderjaska will give their retiring addresses during the same Friday afternoon session which starts at 12 noon MT.
People who’d like to watch online can go to the website at: neaged.org which has a link to the state FFA convention. Click on “live sessions” and a live feed will pop up.
All of the retiring addresses will also be recorded and available for viewing later.