It’s lunchtime at Gilroy High School, but what’s going on in
teacher Heather Nolan’s classroom looks much more like a think tank
for a fundraising team. In fact, that’s what Nolan and her team of
Future Farmers of America students have temporarily become.
by Jennifer Van Gundy
It’s lunchtime at Gilroy High School, but what’s going on in teacher Heather Nolan’s classroom looks much more like a think tank for a fundraising team. In fact, that’s what Nolan and her team of Future Farmers of America students have temporarily become.
Gilroy High’s FFA is a worthy cause with fundraising efforts of its own well under way to get students to California FFA State Conference. But this year’s team of students has taken fund-raising to the next level – call it friends helping friends or one worthy cause helping another. The FFA club is also raising money for Relay for Life, a community walk-a-thon against cancer slated for June 19 and 20.
The connection between the two events is Chris Cortez, a Gilroy High School senior who has lost “tons of family members and friends” to cancer. Cortez became involved with Relay for Life because his great grandma had multiple myeloma. At age 8, Cortez was walking on a Relay for Life team. At age 14, he was a member of the junior committee and at age 15 he was a full committee member. Pretty good for a guy that hasn’t even walked the stage at graduation. Cortez has plenty of motivation.
“Most of my family members who’ve battled cancer have lost their fight,” he said. “Almost all but a few of the survivors on my team are friends.”
To the tune of the door opening and closing with students bringing in sandwiches snatched in a hurry from the lunch carts, Nolan presides over fund-raiser central, green whiteboard marker in hand.
“We need to set a date for the car wash,” Nolan announces to the students who are sprawled out on desktops. In Nolan’s classroom, agriculture reigns. Colorful digestion diagrams that hang from the ceiling and charts analyzing vegetables graze the walls. But for now Nolan and her team are strictly business as they roll out a plan an April 24 car wash and barbeque.
All across the whiteboard are the normal notes with a few exceptions that make it clear that Nolan’s students’ activities are anything but normal.
“Sell 10 luminaria for Relay for Life” is scrawled right along with “Livestock Final Payments Due” with a due date that is fast approaching.
One of the coolest parts of FFA is that students have a chance to raise livestock to sell. It’s a big job, expensive too, but well worth the experience gained when whatever you’ve chosen to raise – whether it clucks, or moos, or snorts – is finally ready to take to the Santa Clara County Fair.
Gilroy High FFA members Daniel Krueger and Travis Ketchu have a sow that they bought and raised together that is now the proud mother of six piglets. They bought the sow for $850 and hope for a big sales reward for all their efforts. Students estimate that they spend approximately two hours a day at the farm caring their projects.
To a casual observer, FFA could easily masquerade as a club that’s all about corn and tomatoes, chickens and piglets, but students say there’s so much more that happens when you set your hand to the plow and get involved.
“FFA is about personal growth and leadership skills, it helps you become a better person,” says FFA member Elizabeth Caballero.
FFA also has a strong program component that aims to help students succeed in their career. At a regional contest held in King City, FFA hosted a Job Interview Contest that sounds more like something a college MBA program would put on than an agriculture club. Students prepared cover letters, resumes and filed out applications. Candidates who passed round one were put through a mock interview. GHS FFA member Justin Paige placed third regionally and will be moving on as one of 24 to compete at the state level in April.
Paige is one of FFA’s amazing stories of how the right focus, a little motivation, and a few living things can bring you back from the edge. “I was planning on dropping out,” explains Paige. “I’ve always been in trouble.” But someone told Paige about FFA and he became very involved, moving from vice president to president, eventually becoming FFA’s sectional president for the area. “Now I’m ready to graduate,” says Paige.
Extra fundraising on top of running a classroom and a busy club that changes people’s lives might be a burden to a normal teacher, but for Nolan FFA’s involvement is worth the extra effort.
“It’s personal to me,” says Nolan, who has been teaching at Gilroy High for six years. “My grandfather had prostate cancer and did not win his battle so if the kids are willing to do it, I’m all over it.”
