According to the National FFA Organization, there are currently 1,042,245 FFA members and 9,407 chapters in the United States, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Less than 1% of those members receive the American FFA Degree, the highest honor achievable in the nation’s largest youth organization.
At the FFA’s national convention in Indianapolis, this fall, three Kewanee FFA members, the most in one year, walked across the stage to receive the prestigious Gold Pin in honor of their accomplishments.
Abigail DeSchepper, Rachel DeRycke and Emma Evans are the latest of the nine members of the Kewanee chapter to earn the degree since 1943, according to FFA advisor Kindra Callahan. DeRycke and DeSchepper both graduated in 2024 and Evans in 2023.
The achievement “demonstrates the effort FFA members apply toward their Supervised Agricultural Experience (SAE) and the outstanding leadership abilities and community involvement they exhibited through their FFA career,” according to the National FFA Organization. “American FFA Degree recipients show promise for the future and have gone above and beyond to achieve excellence,” the organization states on its website.
To be eligible to receive the degree, members must have received a State FFA Degree, hold active membership for the past three years, completed secondary (high school) instruction in an agricultural education program and operated an outstanding SAE program. Community service, leadership abilities and outstanding scholastic achievement are also required. All three served as members of the chapter’s Leadership Team while in high school, according to Mrs. Callahan.
Kewanee’s history-making trio each chose a different agriculture-based path to achieve their degree. The Kewanee Voice asked them to tell their stories in their own words.
My Supervised Agriculture Experience was in Food Service Placement, where I worked at a family’s restaurant, the Downtown Eatery and Bakery. I worked as a server, cook, dishwasher and manager. While I work at the restaurant, I follow many food-handling safety procedures. I have to document which ones I use each day to make sure I stay up to date.
Working at the restaurant involves dealing with agriculture on a daily basis, where everything we use comes from a farmer. Through this SAE, I have learned to manage my time better, communicate more effectively, and be more adaptable. I started this SAE when I was a sophomore in high School and am still doing it today. After I graduated in 2024, I attended Black Hawk College, where I earned my Associate of Science in May. Now, I am attending Illinois State University, where I am studying to become an Elementary Education Teacher and earning my Master’s in Elementary Education.
When I crossed the stage, I felt like this wasn’t real because I knew how significant an accomplishment this was, and I was just in shock that I was doing this. Ever since my first year of high school, I wanted this, and I got what I dreamed of. I hope people in FFA now and in the future take this opportunity because it’s a considerable achievement, and I want everyone to experience this.
To earn this award, I had to stay actively involved in FFA for four years and maintain a supervised Agricultural Experience (SAE) during that time, plus an additional year after graduating high school. I also completed over 50 hours of community service and invested my own money into my SAE.
My project was a beef production entrepreneurship, where I kept detailed records on the cattle I raised.
Earning the American Degree required filling out a full application and completing an interview where I answered questions about my SAE and experiences. I graduated from KHS in 2024, and I’m now a sophomore at Black Hawk College East Campus studying Ag Business and Ag Production. I’m still figuring out my exact path after BHE, but I hope to find a career somewhere in the agriculture field.
Walking across the big stage at the National FFA Convention to receive my American Degree was an unforgettable experience. It felt amazing to see all my hard work pay off, and I was proud to finally reach a goal I had been working toward for years.
To earn my American Degree I had to first receive my State Degree which I earned in June of 2024. I then turned my focus to creating a new record book. I had decided to do it on my job at Stevens Veterinary Clinic in Galva. This required me to make a journal entry every day that I worked and give a brief explanation of my day, as well as documenting my earnings. When I was selecting my SAE, I did it over both of my record books, those being from Cerno’s Bar & Grill ( Where I worked during high school) and Stevens Veterinary Clinic.
I graduated from KHS in 2023 and am currently a first year student in the Veterinary Technology Program at Black College East Campus. My plans are to graduate the Veterinary Technology Program and continue working at Stevens Veterinary Clinic as a Certified Veterinary Technician with both small and large animals. I started working for Dr. Stevens in December of 2023 when I was looking for a job while in the Veterinary Assisting Program and I have been there ever since. Getting the opportunity to work with such an amazing veterinarian and the staff has really meant a lot to me.
Having the opportunity to walk in front of approximately 72,000 people at the convention made me very nervous, but It was such an amazing feeling knowing that I just walked across the national stage as a person listed within the one percent that receives their American Degree each year. Mrs. Callahan made the process amazing and smooth.
Previous chapter members who received the degree, which include Frank I. Reed, Jr., (1943), Kenneth D. Gibson (1980), Brandon LeSage (2011), Benjamin Pickering (2013), Jessica Manthe (2014) and Kyle Joos (2024).
