GREENFIELD — Jordyn Wickard and Madisen Carns had two very different upbringings on opposite sides of Hancock County.
Wickard, a recent Eastern Hancock graduate, grew up helping her parents on their angus cattle farm. Carns, a Mt. Vernon graduate, lives with her family in a suburban neighborhood and isn’t involved in agriculture.
Despite those differences, Wickard and Carns were each recently selected as officers of Indiana’s state FFA organization for the upcoming year. To apply, they submitted written applications and went through a rigorous series of in-person interviews before making the final cut for the seven-person slate.
Wickard will serve as treasurer, while Carns will serve as sentinel. The two will take a gap year before beginning college to carry out duties for the organization, which will include travelling throughout the state helping to organize FFA events.
For Carns, the leadership role is an opportunity to demonstrate that students like her have a place in FFA.
“I had no agricultural experience or background before FFA,” she said.
Carns decided to give the organization a try in her sophomore year of high school, after a few of her friends joined. Mt. Vernon’s program wasn’t large, but it was growing after gaining a new sponsor. She said that in order to find her place within the organization, she had to set aside her expectations that FFA was only for students who had grown up on a farm and planned for a career in agriculture.
“I was nervous to branch out at first,” Carns said, but she quickly found that FFA wasn’t exclusive. “…It’s a very welcoming family community.”
Lucinda Blair, the Mt. Vernon agriculture and business teacher who sponsors FFA, was impressed with Carns.
“She is an outstanding student,” Blair said. “She’s self-motivated and works as hard as she can.”
Blair said Carns also helped to increase student participation in FFA at the school corporation, which has traditionally had only a small program when compared with other Hancock County schools.
“It’s important for her to understand that FFA is not just about farm kids and people that own livestock,” she said.
Throughout two years in FFA, Carns participated in animal science demonstrations and in meat, crops and dairy judging. She decided to apply for a position as a state officer because she thought she had a unique perspective to bring to the table about how agriculture can be part of everyday life.
“Your farm doesn’t have to be in your backyard,” Carns said.
For Jordyn Wickard, agriculture is in her blood, as her parents run Wickard Livestock. A 10-year 4-H member, she shows cattle at the national level. Her involvement in FFA started in seventh grade, and she served as FFA president for Indiana District 8, which includes Hancock County, last year.
“I’ve continued to develop my leadership skills and I’ve continued to develop who I am as a person and it’s because of FFA that I really started that,” Wickard said. “Since sixth grade or seventh grade, I wanted to be a state FFA officer, because I knew the impact that they had on me.”
Wickard said her objective as a state officer will be “to show members that they are valued, loved and heard.” As treasurer, she’ll balance the budget for the state officers, but she’s also taking on the role of co-running their social media program.
FFA is also a family tradition, and Wickard’s mother’s continued involvement sparked her interest in the organization.
“This is something that she’s been working toward since sixth grade, when she accompanied me to Purdue University to judge a public speaking contest,” Julie Wickard said. “She became hooked the first moment that she saw someone in a blue corduroy jacket, and she said, ‘I don’t know what they’re doing, but I want to do that!’”
Julie Wickard said she’s excited to see where her daughter’s FFA leadership will lead.
“As much as I want her to come back to Hancock County, that could happen, and if it doesn’t, I know Hancock County will always be a part of her,” Julie Wickard said.
Both Wickard and Carns plan to head to Purdue University after their year in FFA to study agricultural communications. Carns hopes to one day open a veterinary clinic, while Wickard aspires to work for the National Junior Angus Association and coordinate livestock shows on a national level.