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Photo Caption: Brain Kavanagh California FFA State Treasurer 3rd from left.<\/em><\/p>\n
When the Class of 2022 created the Temecula Saint Jeanne chapter in 2018, there were only four catholic high schools in the United States which offered FFA; Saint Jeanne is the only high school in Temecula that offers FFA.<\/p>\n
Kavanagh has attended St. Jeanne\u2019s since kindergarten and attributes his success as FFA Treasurer to school leaders.<\/p>\n
\u201cSt. Jeanne\u2019s set me up for success,\u201d he says. \u201cHaving spent the entirety of my education with my St. Jeanne\u2019s family, I grew not only academically, but developed a strong moral compass and found my spiritual path as well.\u201d<\/p>\n
Christian Gomez, agriculture teacher and FFA Advisor, Saint Jeanne, says that an extremely important part of the FFA is the leadership aspect. Students\u00a0have the opportunity to run for an FFA office at multiple levels ranging from local to national. At the state level, students are elected by a body of delegates, two from each chapter in the state of California.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe process to run for office is about three months long and is extremely competitive,\u201d Gomez says.<\/p>\n
State officer candidates undergo many screenings and interviews by a nominating committee. After multiple rounds of cuts, the top 12 students have the opportunity to be slated for a position at the State Leadership Conference that occurs every year.<\/p>\n
Kavanagh took a GAP year to devote himself to the position and says he found it important to delay his education plans and to serve for a year with the California FFA Organization because he saw the value in having the potential to directly impact the next generation of educators, business owners, politicians, farmers and leaders.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn my freshman year, I was impacted by the State Officers and wanted to give back to the same family that allowed me to grow, learn and flourish,\u201d he says. \u201cI\u2019ve learned so many soft and hard skills this year by traveling up and down the state and facilitating leadership conferences, teaching workshops in high schools and middle schools, advocating with elected leaders and forging connections \u2014 experiences that I am not too sure are offered in any university class.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kavanagh shares that he also has a deeper understanding of how agriculture truly is the most foundational industry of the nation. And, he says he owes a lot to his alma mater.<\/p>\n
His chapter advisor, Gomez, adds, \u201cThe fact that Brian was one of the founding members and had the opportunity to be elected as a state officer at the end of his senior year was an incredible accomplishment. There are programs that have been around since 1928 when the FFA was first founded, and have yet to have a state officer come from their program.\u201d<\/p>\n
And it looks like\u00a0 Brian has opened the door for other leaders as a second St. Jeanne student, Makena Stanisai, was elected to state office and slated to take over as secretary in 2023-2024.<\/p>\n
\u201cI believe these accomplishments are a true representation of how special Saint Jeanne\u2019s is,\u201d Gomez says. \u201cThese students are eager to extend a hand wherever they can and they\u2019re passionate about diversifying their high school experience by partaking in organizations and classes that aren\u2019t typical of a classic high school experience.\u201d<\/p>\n
And, as a member of FFA, Kavanagh created his own business, selling homemade jam, and learned more about entrepreneurship and leadership through agriculture.<\/p>\n
\u201cHaving an FFA program changes the lives of these students,\u201d Gomez says. \u201cWithout their FFA experience, many have shared that they may have still been undecided on what they wanted to pursue in life and in college.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kavanagh plans to attend the University of Notre Dame in the Fall where he will study International Business.<\/p>\n
About the FFA: <\/strong><\/p>\n The FFA is an organization that intends to prepare its members for future career success and much more through agricultural education. It has more than 8,000 chapters in the nation including U.S. territories with 850,000+ members. The California Chapter has about 100,000.<\/p>\n