When the average person hears something about the FFA, they usually think of sows, cows and plows, but to Senior Faustin Wood, it is much more than that.

“I’ve become better at increasing my knowledge of buying and selling, of being able to talk to people, being able to build relationships in just a few minutes, (and) extemporaneous speech.”

Wood, a senior this year and president of the North Upper Snake River FFA District, joined the FFA as a freshman, though he knew little about it. But he has grown a lot in his years of being a member.

“You know I started out as a really timid, shy kid who didn’t really like people and now I’m able to stand in front of two thousand people and give a six minute speech.”

Along with growing more as a person, the FFA has also shaped Wood’s future and has helped him learn what he wants to be.

“I just want to be a product engineer… Being able to build tractors and design farm equipment. And to be able to do that you have to be really good at communicating with people and have a good understanding of things like that. And FFA has definitely had a huge impact on my future.”

Wood also believes that FFA isn’t just for people with a farming background.

“On a national level, with around 650,000 members in the United States, I would say that 60 percent of those people aren’t from farms they’re from other aspects, just everywhere. So… FFA is for literally everyone.”

If you are interested in joining FFA, they have member meetings every second thursday of each month during the school year.