During the back half of the school year, many ag-invested FFA students dedicate their lives to practicing and competing in a Career Development Event (CDE), for short. Over the past four years of their high school career, multiple seniors have not only participated in these events but also excelled in them.
One senior who seems to stand out in everything FFA is Jake Ressler. Throughout his time in FFA, he has become very accomplished and has much to show for it.
“One moment that was very big for me was placing as the sixth highest individual in the state for Farm Business Management. My goal was to place in the top ten, and I achieved this by working hard and scoring my personal best score,” Ressler said.
Ressler is also the area Xl and Hallettsville chapter president, supporting him in his endeavors, and working just as hard is Jessie Whitley. Jessie is very involved in FFA year-round, competing in every competition she can, building her resume for years to come.
“My last CDE team was range, and the hardest thing I had to overcome was not being able to participate in it last year, so this year I pretty much had to start completely at square one. I just had to put in a lot of really hard work and learning all the information and how to do the contest,” Whitley said.
Multiple of the Hallettsville CDE teams placed at the state level, including the ag sales team led by Peyton Pasak and Payton Mathison.
“I’d say the most challenging thing I’ve faced doing CDEs is trying to overcome challenges and trying to get a better score than last time. Looking people in the eye while doing interviews in ag sales was challenging, but practicing with my peers definitely helped,” Pasak said.
Both seniors have had their own ups and downs this year, but with a strong closing, this will be a moment that they will remember for the rest of their lives.
“In terms of CDEs, I’d say the most challenging thing that I’ve done is the competition I’ve done since I was a Freshman, and that’s ag sales. I’d say it challenged me the most just because of the unpredictability that comes with it,” Mathison said.
While a lot of the time, CDE’s are about competing and doing your best to get to that top level, a lot of the time, it is for FFA students to have fun and find friends in fun times.
“One thing I’ll never forget about this CDE season is practicing out by the pool. Hunter and Gabe went swimming, and the trees were really pretty, and we just studied together as a group,” Pasak said.
At the end of it all, these seniors will always have FFA to fall back on. Whether it be the lessons they learned or the skills it helped them develop, this will be a season they will remember for years to come.
“Obviously, FFA is the competition, but it’s the people along the way that make it better,” Mathison said.
