It’s been six months since the Illinois State FFA officers have stepped into their positions. Williamsfield alum and Illinois FFA Reporter Sidney Stiers shares that over the last six months, she has taken part in many chapter visits, training in D.C., and industry tours. As Stiers reflects on her last six months, she says one of the biggest lessons she has learned is to look back in the moment, remember the initial excitement, and embrace it throughout the experience.
“When I was elected, I was definitely excited, definitely energized, ready to start the year-I’m not going to say that I fizzled out, but I definitely think there’s a level of inspiration that a lot of us fail to continue to have. We just walked away from a really energizing experience, really motivated and passionate about something, there’s always a concern that when you are continuing with a project, you don’t have the initial inspiration and motivation as you did when it started,” says Stiers. “I carry on the election session and the motivation I had through that to bring me through the tougher times of state office or the longer work hours. But I also bring with me those little pieces of inspiration that come from the members, from seeing ah-ha moments in someone’s FFA career, or getting to work with people that I genuinely enjoy working with every day, that pushes me to stay involved and embrace it all.”
With applications getting ready to open for the next round of Illinois FFA State Officers, Steirs shares a piece of advice for anyone considering taking the next step in their FFA career.
“Think about why you’re doing it. When I was running, or at the point where I was considering running for state office, that’s one of the questions I was asked,” says Stiers. “It’s also one of the questions that I needed to think about to even make the decision; am I running because of the members? Am I running because of the advisors? Am I running because, I don’t know, I just feel like maybe I look good in a state officer jacket? Or am I running because I want to make a difference? It’s your why that really matters. And once you establish the reason that you want to run, you can establish whether or not you should, and then also it gives you a whole platform to work off of based on how you’re specifically going to make yourself a unique candidate.”
Applications for the Illinois State FFA team open on March 1st.
