The Highland FFA Chapter is celebrating National FFA Week in the fourth year since their creation.

Chapter President Taylor Sublette and Vice-President Jenna Sands were both inaugural members as freshmen when the school chartered the chapter four years ago. Sublette says she joined to get out of her comfort zone, which led to her selection as chapter secretary as a sophomore, reporter as a junior, and a southeast Iowa district officer, “That has just been a huge step for me because I’ve gotten to travel the state, and go to different leadership conferences and I’ve met so many different people and it’s just showed me that you can do anything you put your mind to. It just takes a lot of hard work and dedication.”

Sands says she enjoys guiding new chapter members, “I’ve been an officer the past four years and I’ve been able to help the underclassmen, they have someone to look up to. Recently, we made the middle school be able to be involved in FFA and sometimes they feel like they’re swept under the rug being younger, but being a leader I help them make sure their voices are heard.”

When Sublette and Sands joined Highland’s inaugural FFA Chapter there were 11 students total. Since then they’ve grown to almost 60 members. FFA Advisor and Agriculture Education Teacher Gina Trower says they’ll have several students participating in the Southeast District Convention March 6th.