Wauneta chapter’s Lee earns coveted American FFA Degree

Cord Lee was one of many high school seniors across the country who saw their final year of high school disrupted by COVID.
For FFA members that meant no state convention when Nebraska FFA canceled its annual event that spring, opting for a virtual convention. Seniors like Lee and three Wauneta-Palisade classmates didn’t have a chance to walk across the stage and receive their State FFA degrees.
Because of that, Lee said being at the National FFA Convention and walking across the stage to get his American Degree was even more special.
In high school, part of his supervised ag experience also included working on the production side of his family’s feedlot.
Lee’s parents, George and Leslie, made the trip to Indianapolis to watch Saturday’s ceremony.
Lee said his parents helped him get started in ag and encouraged him to join FFA. The process came full circle when they could be in Indianapolis to watch him complete his final FFA endeavor, he added.
Lee is majoring in animal science and ag economics at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
Also for his SAE, Lee worked at Southwestern Veterinary Service in Wauneta during high school and now works at a vet clinic in Lincoln.
With community service also a necessity to receive an American Degree, Lee has earned hours through Alpha Gamma Rho, an ag based fraternity he’s a member of at UNL.
Lee got to Indianapolis late Thursday night and spent Friday wandering the expo with his parents.
It was his first trip to the national convention and he said it was interesting to see the mix of FFA members from different regions of the country.
Earning an American Degree is to reach the peak of FFA, Lee said, adding he feels like he has closed his FFA career on a high.
“Not many get it,” Lee said.
Many FFA students choose not to pursue an American degree after high school, which makes the award feel more prestigious to him.
“It’s pretty special to reach that goal,” Lee said.