WEBVTT 00:00:02.826 --> 00:00:04.932 Welcome to the Growing Our Future podcast. 00:00:04.932 --> 00:00:20.030 In this show, the Texas FFA Foundation will take on a journey of exploration into agricultural science, education, leadership development and insights from subject matter experts and sponsors who provide the fuel to make dreams come true. 00:00:20.030 --> 00:00:22.481 Here's your host, Aaron Alejandro. 00:00:30.246 --> 00:00:40.195 Well, good morning, good afternoon, good evening, or whenever you may be tuning in to the Growing Our Future podcast, hey, we always like to say thank you. 00:00:40.195 --> 00:00:43.697 Thank you because you know time's the only thing you can spend. 00:00:43.697 --> 00:00:48.426 You can't save it, you can't put it in the bank for later, you can only spend it. 00:00:48.426 --> 00:00:52.826 So the fact that you're willing to spend a little of your time with us, I just want you to know. 00:00:52.826 --> 00:00:55.030 We appreciate it, you know. 00:00:55.030 --> 00:00:59.270 The other thing I like to tell people is, if agriculture has taught me anything, it's taught me. 00:00:59.270 --> 00:01:01.662 If you want to know what the future is, grow it. 00:01:01.662 --> 00:01:22.305 So the Growing Our Future podcast is just about that bringing on guests that can pour into us, that can share their ideas, their experiences, their insights, so that we may find some seeds that we can plant in our lives that will grow an even better tomorrow, and today is no different. 00:01:22.325 --> 00:01:23.608 Wait till y'all meet this lady. 00:01:23.608 --> 00:01:25.272 I'm excited to have her. 00:01:25.272 --> 00:01:35.388 She's the first ever teacher of the year that I've ever had on the podcast, and we'll talk about that just in a second here, but she did receive that honor in 2016. 00:01:35.388 --> 00:01:37.908 But we have Catherine Villareal. 00:01:37.908 --> 00:01:39.686 Cat, let me make sure I make it right. 00:01:39.686 --> 00:01:41.766 Do you want me to call you Cat or Catherine. 00:01:42.668 --> 00:01:43.191 Cat's fine. 00:01:43.191 --> 00:01:47.685 Cat's my childhood nickname, so Catherine to my mother, but Kat to you, that's fine. 00:01:47.706 --> 00:01:48.266 Very good. 00:01:48.266 --> 00:01:50.688 Well, ladies and gentlemen, this is Kat For real. 00:01:51.590 --> 00:01:52.632 Thank you for joining us. 00:01:52.632 --> 00:01:54.754 Thank you for having me. 00:01:54.754 --> 00:01:55.515 I appreciate it. 00:01:56.799 --> 00:01:58.804 Okay, Kat, Every person that's on this podcast. 00:01:58.804 --> 00:02:03.132 We can start every podcast with the same question Ready. 00:02:03.953 --> 00:02:04.134 Yes. 00:02:05.421 --> 00:02:07.308 What are you grateful for today? 00:02:10.021 --> 00:02:15.668 I am grateful for and I always say grateful and blessed for where I am in my life. 00:02:15.668 --> 00:02:26.906 One of the things that I really sit back and look at now that I'm older is I always kind of it sounds cliche, but was praying to be where I am. 00:02:26.906 --> 00:02:37.204 And when we get into talking through some of the stuff I'll cover it is I like to remind people I'm not the typical agricultural person. 00:02:37.204 --> 00:02:41.031 I didn't grow up on a farm, I didn't have ranch experience. 00:02:41.031 --> 00:02:49.865 I started in high school and I just fell in love with it and that has opened so many doors for me to get to the life that I had. 00:02:49.865 --> 00:03:11.062 I remember dreaming and scheming and thinking of one day being an ag teacher, one day having what I have now with my husband, with our cattle operation and I know 10 year old me that was a ballerina and in cheer and never really thought about it would be like, wow, we got to do that, like that's our life now. 00:03:11.062 --> 00:03:17.955 So I'm very grateful and blessed for what I've been able to earn and become through agriculture. 00:03:19.139 --> 00:03:21.681 Wow, OK, we can stop right there. 00:03:21.681 --> 00:03:22.323 That was good. 00:03:22.323 --> 00:03:26.004 No, that was really good, though. 00:03:26.004 --> 00:03:27.926 Seriously, think about that. 00:03:27.926 --> 00:03:31.088 I agree with everything you just said too. 00:03:31.088 --> 00:03:31.569 By the way. 00:03:31.569 --> 00:03:39.195 One of the things I like to tell people when you're on the podcast or when they're listening to the podcast, is practice R2A2. 00:03:39.195 --> 00:03:41.396 You might share this with your kids R2A2. 00:03:47.240 --> 00:03:47.961 share this with your kids R2A2. 00:03:47.961 --> 00:03:48.962 Recognize, relate, assimilate and apply. 00:03:48.962 --> 00:03:51.867 Recognize what somebody says, try to relate to it, take it in and then apply it. 00:03:51.867 --> 00:04:06.046 And already, just in your gratefulness, you shared aspirations as a young person, the fact that you've worked hard for something, the fact that you appreciate that you're getting to live the dream that you had. 00:04:06.046 --> 00:04:09.151 All of that already is a great start. 00:04:09.151 --> 00:04:11.294 So thank you so much for sharing. 00:04:13.200 --> 00:04:14.967 Thank you, I appreciate it. 00:04:15.420 --> 00:04:31.370 I know that before we got started, you and I were talking a little bit about what you do, and so why don't we start there and why don't you take us kind of on a journey of kind of where you started, which led you into the role that you have now? 00:04:31.370 --> 00:04:34.112 Because something tells me you did not just fall into that chair. 00:04:34.112 --> 00:04:35.613 Something tells me. 00:04:36.535 --> 00:04:39.516 There was a journey that took place. 00:04:39.579 --> 00:04:41.345 So walk us through that. 00:04:41.345 --> 00:04:43.350 Tell us how you got to where you're at today. 00:04:45.810 --> 00:04:47.839 Walk us through that, tell us how you got to where you're at today. 00:04:47.839 --> 00:04:56.473 So, like I said before, I was not a typical agricultural person I don't know what the right term would be but I had the here and there experiences. 00:04:56.473 --> 00:05:06.891 I learned and it's so crazy because my mom always brings it up like she never really realized what an impact this was going to be in my life. 00:05:06.891 --> 00:05:09.579 I started in high school. 00:05:09.579 --> 00:05:12.425 Like I said, my all my parents are both my parents are educators. 00:05:12.425 --> 00:05:27.305 So at the time that was when dual enrollment became a thing and there was a lot of campuses down here in the valley that were starting their programs, one of them being Progresso High School, which is where my mom worked for 32 years. 00:05:27.305 --> 00:05:33.846 So my eighth grade summer that program took off and she kind of made the executive decision. 00:05:33.846 --> 00:05:34.668 She said you know what? 00:05:34.668 --> 00:05:41.483 You're not going to go to West Laco High with all your friends, you're going to move to Progresso with me and those that are familiar with Progresso. 00:05:41.483 --> 00:05:46.670 There is a very big difference between West Laco and Progresso and those that are familiar with Progreso. 00:05:46.670 --> 00:05:53.281 There is a very big difference between West Laco and Progreso and it was a culture shock. 00:05:53.281 --> 00:05:55.985 I had always been around the town because my mom had worked there forever, like long, long time. 00:05:55.985 --> 00:05:57.709 She retired 33 years later. 00:05:57.709 --> 00:06:00.694 But I was like, ok, after I had my moment I said you know what? 00:06:00.694 --> 00:06:01.536 I'm going to go to school there. 00:06:01.536 --> 00:06:04.425 The dual enrollment program you say is going to be good for me. 00:06:04.425 --> 00:06:05.086 I'll try it out. 00:06:05.086 --> 00:06:08.713 So we went through the dual enrollment program. 00:06:08.713 --> 00:06:15.293 I started going with them to South Texas College and it was really unique because we were like guinea pigs. 00:06:15.293 --> 00:06:23.732 We were the first 25 students to go through the program so we would attend like actual college classes on campus. 00:06:23.732 --> 00:06:28.682 They bus us to and from and we went fall, spring and summer one. 00:06:28.682 --> 00:06:40.583 So I started taking college classes my eighth grade summer and at the time it was it was a lot but I pushed through and it was really hard on me because I also did cheer. 00:06:40.583 --> 00:06:53.805 I did a lot of extracurricular activities and one of the things that I got interested in through my high school best friend was she's like hey, you have the morning block open, why don't you take an ad class? 00:06:53.805 --> 00:06:55.089 And I was like what is an ad class? 00:06:55.089 --> 00:07:04.146 I don't know what that is and she's like it's about agriculture, but you'll be fine because we can take it together and high school girl mentality was like okay, bestie, time will be, will be great. 00:07:04.146 --> 00:07:12.870 And so I enrolled in that ag class and I met my ag teacher, mr Gary Dominguez, and it kind of was just like a light switched on. 00:07:13.480 --> 00:07:22.358 I've always been very vocal, very I had the leadership skills, I think, for like cheer and dance, and I was in GT, so I had like the brains. 00:07:22.358 --> 00:07:28.845 I just didn't put it to any other potential other than school and I started to get involved. 00:07:28.845 --> 00:07:44.613 I always say bless his dear heart, because he had a chapter full of girls, high school girls, that he had to wrangle and we weren't crazy, but we were a lot and he, he would take us anywhere and everywhere. 00:07:44.613 --> 00:07:46.882 He became like a second father figure to me. 00:07:46.882 --> 00:07:51.793 Um, my parents now they always talk about how grateful they are for him. 00:07:51.793 --> 00:07:53.343 He's a great family friend of ours now. 00:07:54.165 --> 00:08:01.867 Um, and it was something that I just started to do and I've I'm the my mom says I have the oldest daughter syndrome. 00:08:01.867 --> 00:08:10.350 Like I just kind of have a little, a little bit of extraness to me when it comes to leadership stuff and I never really asked her to do stuff, I just said I'm going to. 00:08:10.350 --> 00:08:13.108 So he gave me the opportunity to show rabbits. 00:08:13.108 --> 00:08:21.127 I had no idea what you do when you show rabbits, but he walked us through it and I made sale at our County show and I was hooked. 00:08:21.127 --> 00:08:27.024 I was like, okay, this is cool, like I'm good at this too, and so I started running for office. 00:08:27.024 --> 00:08:40.363 I started doing contests, um, and I just became super saturated in everything it is and I became very, very close with him like a right hand, learned a lot of his tips and trades. 00:08:40.363 --> 00:08:42.448 And then he told me about where he went to school. 00:08:42.448 --> 00:08:44.322 He's like I went to the university of Kingsville. 00:08:44.743 --> 00:08:47.369 They have an ag ed program and I said okay. 00:08:47.369 --> 00:08:48.652 I said that sounds great. 00:08:48.652 --> 00:08:53.809 I said I want to do that, so went as far as to like plan out my schedule. 00:08:53.809 --> 00:08:55.374 We looked at things online. 00:08:55.374 --> 00:09:01.293 Now my mom is going to correct me when she hears this, but this is honest truth. 00:09:01.293 --> 00:09:08.764 She was not ready to let go. 00:09:08.764 --> 00:09:10.373 Her plan for me knew I wanted to be a teacher, I just didn't know what type. 00:09:10.373 --> 00:09:10.916 And then I just it clicked. 00:09:10.916 --> 00:09:11.720 I said I want to be an ag teacher. 00:09:12.542 --> 00:09:23.956 And she's like but you can stay here and go to UTRGV and be close to home and all of this and she's like and you still have to finish like your bachelor's, you're not done with your associates. 00:09:23.956 --> 00:09:26.061 Because I was also working towards that still. 00:09:26.061 --> 00:09:31.030 And so she ended up saying like no, like you're gonna wait, I'm not sure. 00:09:31.030 --> 00:09:35.206 And it crushed me because I had this all planned out in my head like it was, I was ready to go. 00:09:35.206 --> 00:09:41.826 And so she's like let's finish at UTRGV and then I'll see how you I feel about you going into the spring. 00:09:41.826 --> 00:09:50.006 So I started that plan and they realized you're already have your associates, there's nothing else you can do here. 00:09:50.006 --> 00:09:52.380 I said, well, great, that's, that's awesome. 00:09:52.380 --> 00:09:58.580 So I took like a mini summer off, I guess, or fall off, and I continue to work towards that. 00:09:58.580 --> 00:10:00.341 I say, you know, mom, this is what I really want to do. 00:10:00.341 --> 00:10:04.083 She said, okay, if you want to do that, I'm going to relinquish you. 00:10:04.083 --> 00:10:07.405 So we got all my stuff transferred to King'sville. 00:10:08.246 --> 00:10:19.495 I ended up going in like as a sophomore junior and she, I kind of just got dumped headfirst into everything and I took it all in. 00:10:19.495 --> 00:10:32.599 I took my animal science classes, I got all of that stuff done and I just became really, really excited about agriculture and I was so excited to share a lot of it with my ag teacher. 00:10:32.599 --> 00:10:41.381 He guided me through everything and it was just something that really opened my eyes because I knew what agriculture was from our small chapter. 00:10:41.381 --> 00:10:45.988 But seeing that it was people's jobs like this is what they do, it amazed me. 00:10:45.988 --> 00:10:48.410 And I was able. 00:10:48.410 --> 00:10:55.567 I was one of the youngest in our group and I was able to go get mentored at a lot of the big schools at the time, like Orange Grove. 00:10:55.567 --> 00:10:57.020 I did observation at Orange Grove. 00:10:57.020 --> 00:11:02.402 They were a machine like they still are a machine, but got to see them train teams and run a program. 00:11:02.501 --> 00:11:11.089 And then I worked under Frances Nelson at Cal Allen and she I tell everyone she was the one that taught me that ladies can be a boss. 00:11:11.089 --> 00:11:21.890 I went in when she was having her last daughter and she the first day cause I started in January, mid Nueces County heat. 00:11:21.890 --> 00:11:36.523 She was very heavily pregnant, like she was getting ready to go maternity leave, and there she is pushing steers through the chute and I was like you know what I can do that Like, if she's pregnant and doing all this stuff, I'm okay, cause I was still kind of nervous, cause I you get to meet all those people in college. 00:11:36.523 --> 00:11:43.634 You're like my grandpa's had a ranch for 50 years and I'm like I live in a neighborhood and I have three dogs like that was. 00:11:43.634 --> 00:11:45.378 That was my closest tie. 00:11:45.378 --> 00:11:58.072 All my experience was through my little county and stuff like that, and so I learned a lot with Francis and through that program and I really, really that that got me ready to go. 00:11:58.072 --> 00:12:00.539 So I graduated when I was 20. 00:12:00.539 --> 00:12:08.364 I never I tell my my kids now is like I I love dual enrollment, but I didn't live the college you see in on TV. 00:12:08.364 --> 00:12:11.731 I was so and I think it made me the teacher I am today. 00:12:11.731 --> 00:12:14.528 Because I was so hyper focused, because I was ready to go. 00:12:14.528 --> 00:12:19.000 I only had so many hours I could do and so I graduated at 20. 00:12:19.682 --> 00:12:23.006 And I started looking for a job which I wanted to move back home. 00:12:23.006 --> 00:12:32.662 I knew I wanted to be close to home and I always tell everyone I had to GPS my way to my first job because I never heard of the town before. 00:12:32.662 --> 00:12:36.659 Um, I think you're familiar with it because I feel like I've seen you post from Port Mansfield before. 00:12:36.659 --> 00:12:49.402 But my first job was in San Francisco, texas, population 501, like very, very small, and my ag teacher had heard about the position and he's like I think you should apply. 00:12:49.402 --> 00:12:51.288 And I said it's a single teacher department. 00:12:51.288 --> 00:12:52.070 What do you want me to do? 00:12:52.070 --> 00:12:56.549 Like I had just mentored under one of the biggest programs with four other teachers. 00:12:56.549 --> 00:12:58.321 He's like no, you'll be fine, apply. 00:12:58.321 --> 00:13:01.246 So I GPS my way, go to the interview. 00:13:01.246 --> 00:13:06.522 And I just remember pulling up and I was like, wow, this, there's literally one light in this town. 00:13:06.522 --> 00:13:10.471 There's no Starbucks, there's no gas stations, there's no McDonald's. 00:13:10.471 --> 00:13:14.448 Like it's 20 minutes from anything and if you're going to Port Mansfield you'll miss it. 00:13:14.448 --> 00:13:14.710 People. 00:13:14.710 --> 00:13:17.370 I always tell people you know the blinking light where you can turn left. 00:13:17.370 --> 00:13:18.134 That's where we were. 00:13:19.038 --> 00:13:35.052 I interviewed, I got the position and I'm probably the I think I'm the first female ag teacher they had and they're probably the youngest and I I kind of went to work and I always tell teachers that are starting out you have to start somewhere and you've got to learn somewhere. 00:13:35.052 --> 00:13:38.303 And so I learned a lot with my kids. 00:13:38.303 --> 00:13:39.187 I got hired. 00:13:39.187 --> 00:13:43.201 One week later I was taking these kids to say convention had never met them before. 00:13:43.201 --> 00:13:44.927 We loaded them in a van. 00:13:44.927 --> 00:13:48.259 I'm only a few years older than a lot of these kids to say convention had never met them before we loaded them in a van. 00:13:48.259 --> 00:14:03.413 I'm only a few years older than a lot of these kids, so we grew together and my San Prelita chapter is one of my favorite chapters that I have in my life because it was eight years of me growing myself in a program and so it's a really small county, willisee County. 00:14:03.413 --> 00:14:05.785 We got in there and I had a lot of. 00:14:05.785 --> 00:14:14.721 I followed a very tenured teacher so it was scary because that guy had been there forever and I started to get to work. 00:14:14.721 --> 00:14:16.765 We did a lot of the leadership stuff. 00:14:16.765 --> 00:14:19.351 We opened those doors to kids to do contests. 00:14:20.302 --> 00:14:24.470 Um, it was a big show community so I learned a lot about other show species. 00:14:24.470 --> 00:14:32.104 Um, I showed pigs through high school but I learned about, I learned to do different things with the different animals, like the goats, the lambs. 00:14:32.104 --> 00:14:32.544 I had to. 00:14:32.544 --> 00:14:33.267 I was the only teacher. 00:14:33.267 --> 00:14:38.068 So it was a lot of trial and error and that's something I always tell people don't be scared to try. 00:14:38.068 --> 00:14:40.804 You mess up one time, you can figure it out, you learn from it. 00:14:40.804 --> 00:14:46.600 And it was a really good experience for me because I got to do everything. 00:14:46.600 --> 00:14:51.288 I taught shop, I did horticulture, I did that, lifestyle classes. 00:14:51.288 --> 00:14:58.171 I did all of the, the SAE projects with the animals and, um, even doing like the leadership. 00:14:58.191 --> 00:15:04.570 That was something that I feel like I left my mark there with that, because those kids only knew show. 00:15:04.570 --> 00:15:07.434 They didn't know what else FFA has to offer. 00:15:07.434 --> 00:15:15.691 And I feel like that's where some chapters are at a disadvantage, because it's not just about livestock, it's about the leadership that you get from being an FFA member. 00:15:15.691 --> 00:15:21.951 You got to take advantage of everything and so we ended up having I really really loved it there. 00:15:21.951 --> 00:15:30.873 It was my favorite, like I I said my favorite chapter in my history and we had kids that I took my first team to state there. 00:15:30.873 --> 00:15:34.321 Um, my livestock judging team placed fourth at area. 00:15:34.360 --> 00:15:35.322 Who made it to state. 00:15:35.322 --> 00:15:37.607 That was like one of my top tier. 00:15:37.607 --> 00:15:42.628 You made it moments, um, and my eye teacher was even like damn, like you haven't even been teaching that long. 00:15:42.628 --> 00:15:43.311 That's not fair. 00:15:43.311 --> 00:15:45.346 And I was like, well, I was a nerd. 00:15:45.346 --> 00:15:47.113 We put the work in, we got it done. 00:15:47.113 --> 00:15:49.221 We had a lot of mentorship that helped get there. 00:15:49.221 --> 00:15:51.974 I got to experience a lot of firsts with them, all my firsts. 00:15:51.974 --> 00:16:03.346 But I went to national convention with one of my girls I don't know if you remember way back when um god, I don't know what year it was she was the talent contestant at state convention. 00:16:03.346 --> 00:16:06.214 That's staying, selena Carson. 00:16:06.320 --> 00:16:06.922 That was my kid. 00:16:07.302 --> 00:16:14.491 Yes, she, she was one of mine and she, she won state and we went to national convention. 00:16:14.491 --> 00:16:15.864 She competed at national. 00:16:15.864 --> 00:16:20.528 So she gave me that opportunity and it was a really good experience with that. 00:16:20.528 --> 00:16:26.760 And so it started to grow into a monster, I say because our program got so popular. 00:16:26.760 --> 00:16:31.831 There was only so much to do there, but it became a very big project. 00:16:32.692 --> 00:16:38.053 And I got the opportunity from one of the teachers that moved to IDEA. 00:16:38.053 --> 00:16:40.301 She said look, this is what we're trying to do. 00:16:40.301 --> 00:16:45.232 It's at a public, it's at a charter school, but I think you'd be a good fit for the program. 00:16:45.232 --> 00:16:55.326 So she invited me in, I interviewed, I got a position and we started working together to build this program. 00:16:55.326 --> 00:17:03.412 She moved on to another school because she got an opening at our hometown chapter and I said understood, I got, that's an opportunity of a lifetime to teach where you grow. 00:17:03.412 --> 00:17:05.221 Understood, that's an opportunity of a lifetime to teach where you grow. 00:17:05.221 --> 00:17:12.451 And so it kind of left me in a space where I was very nervous because Idea did not know what they were doing. 00:17:12.451 --> 00:17:15.316 They were relying on us to kind of build this program. 00:17:15.316 --> 00:17:19.844 They knew what they wanted, but the work had to be put in, yes. 00:17:19.864 --> 00:17:37.637 So I started putting my head down and getting to work with a group of eighth grade kids that knew nothing about agriculture, but what I've ever told them, and I told myself you need to make them fall in love with it, like Mr D made you fall in love with it. 00:17:37.637 --> 00:17:41.565 And so we talked about it in class. 00:17:41.565 --> 00:17:42.792 We started. 00:17:42.792 --> 00:17:43.173 I told him. 00:17:43.173 --> 00:17:44.397 I said this is a two-year commitment. 00:17:44.397 --> 00:17:46.651 If we're going to charter, I need you guys on board. 00:17:46.651 --> 00:17:48.814 And so they said okay, we're ready. 00:17:48.814 --> 00:17:55.961 So it was five girls, five eighth grade girls, and we went through the process of chartering and it's 15 steps. 00:17:55.961 --> 00:17:57.403 You got to meet all your deadlines. 00:17:57.403 --> 00:18:04.032 I was dealing with Gwen, who was a godsend, and then it came time to the site visit. 00:18:04.053 --> 00:18:07.711 And they said, okay, they're going to send the big wigs from FFA to see if you guys got it. 00:18:07.711 --> 00:18:09.236 And I said, okay, how do we prepare? 00:18:09.236 --> 00:18:13.758 And they're like, we'll just touch these touch points, which I feel is like a test to you to see what you can do. 00:18:13.758 --> 00:18:22.300 And so I said, okay, we got to hit XYZ girls and she's like, but you can't help them, they have to know the knowledge they have to put together the presentation. 00:18:22.300 --> 00:18:23.201 I was like, okay, great. 00:18:23.201 --> 00:18:35.513 So we we grinded those five girls really worked at it, we learned everything, we competed in everything and we kind of shook it up because we were the first idea to get that program going. 00:18:35.513 --> 00:18:40.522 And in our, in our inaugural year, we had a really good run. 00:18:40.522 --> 00:18:47.531 We had one of our eighth graders end up being a top five in the state and finalists for Spanish Crete as an eighth grader. 00:18:47.752 --> 00:18:47.972 Wow. 00:18:48.494 --> 00:18:50.219 That that was wild. 00:18:50.219 --> 00:18:53.094 She was officially the youngest contestant that year and everyone's like are you lost? 00:18:53.094 --> 00:18:55.565 They said no, she's going into semi-finals heat. 00:18:55.565 --> 00:19:03.007 But she ended up top five and then we also were top four in the area for horse judging and went to state that year. 00:19:03.007 --> 00:19:05.661 So we hit state two years in our first year it was. 00:19:05.661 --> 00:19:11.037 It was a very powerful moment but it was also scary because I was like, oh no, what are we doing? 00:19:11.037 --> 00:19:16.679 But we chartered and it's just been hitting the ground running from there. 00:19:16.679 --> 00:19:17.080 We've. 00:19:17.080 --> 00:19:35.660 We've grown to be from one eye teacher to we're at four now with about a little under 350 members, and we've just been moving and grooving since so it's called idea yes, it's through the idea public school system and it's a charter school 00:19:36.281 --> 00:19:43.923 yes, sir and you started with one now you're four, yes, and you started with eight kids. 00:19:43.923 --> 00:19:44.703 Is that what you said? 00:19:45.291 --> 00:19:45.755 so we had. 00:19:45.755 --> 00:19:48.872 We had eighth graders, so they were in eighth grade. 00:19:48.872 --> 00:19:50.718 Okay, we had, and it's so. 00:19:50.718 --> 00:19:55.530 I've been having a moment all all week because we started back to school. 00:19:55.530 --> 00:19:57.938 They're juniors now, but they were my founding. 00:19:57.938 --> 00:20:00.231 We're the aggies also, that's our, our school mascot. 00:20:00.231 --> 00:20:05.531 So they're my founding aggies and my principal's like okay, here's your principles about class go. 00:20:05.531 --> 00:20:12.223 And so I taught the basic principles of ag class to eighth graders who had never been in ag. 00:20:13.090 --> 00:20:27.356 It's a very urban place where I'm at, we're kind of between Mission and Palmview, but I had to fuel those kids to understand what FFA was and what all they have to do, and it's a very heavily Hispanic area. 00:20:27.356 --> 00:20:35.002 So when we first started out, I got the typical like we don't look like them, this isn't, this isn't us. 00:20:35.002 --> 00:20:40.141 And I always tell them, I joke with them, because my mom's Hispanic, my dad's white. 00:20:40.141 --> 00:20:42.452 I'm like I'm half offended but I feel you. 00:20:42.452 --> 00:20:47.804 So I understand and so I said if we're going to join them, we're going to beat them. 00:20:47.804 --> 00:20:54.328 And so we got it, we got into it and we we've been very competitive ever since. 00:20:54.328 --> 00:20:57.384 I've raised little monsters because now they feel like they're the best at everything. 00:20:57.384 --> 00:21:05.353 But I'd rather them be confident and wanting to try because there's I've learned also to never turn them away from a contest. 00:21:05.353 --> 00:21:07.319 We're going to try everything and figure it out. 00:21:07.710 --> 00:21:09.155 Well, I mean, that's life right. 00:21:09.155 --> 00:21:16.336 You're helping them understand that it's a big world out there and you don't need to be afraid of it. 00:21:16.336 --> 00:21:19.500 And the other thing that I like is Dr Gordon Davis. 00:21:19.500 --> 00:21:23.619 He's the gentleman that made the big contribution to Texas Tech ICEV. 00:21:23.619 --> 00:21:27.598 They named you know it's the Davis College of Agriculture now. 00:21:27.598 --> 00:21:30.313 But I love what Dr Davis says. 00:21:30.313 --> 00:21:33.219 He tells everybody it's okay to win. 00:21:33.219 --> 00:21:39.961 It's okay to win, and I think it's great that you're willing to tell your kids it's okay to win. 00:21:39.961 --> 00:21:43.315 Nobody's handed it to you, nobody's given it to you. 00:21:43.315 --> 00:21:44.758 You're going to earn it. 00:21:44.758 --> 00:21:46.019 But guess what? 00:21:46.019 --> 00:21:47.963 If you earn it, it's okay to win. 00:21:50.730 --> 00:21:51.073 And they've. 00:21:51.073 --> 00:21:52.196 They've really enjoyed it. 00:21:52.196 --> 00:21:53.834 They've become super competitive. 00:21:53.834 --> 00:22:00.679 And it made me happy because when we first started a lot of them were like, well, I'm not, so, not. 00:22:00.679 --> 00:22:12.711 So they ran show, which is what they would say, like I'm not from the farm, not from a ranch, and I said neither am I I. 00:22:12.711 --> 00:22:15.962 I said I lived in a neighborhood, I I had to buy my first show shirt in high school to show my pig, because I had never, I'd never, done a livestock show. 00:22:15.962 --> 00:22:16.765 And so I said I'm the same as you. 00:22:16.765 --> 00:22:21.395 I'm not, I'm not come from any kind of big corporation of agriculture history. 00:22:21.395 --> 00:22:22.258 I wish I did. 00:22:23.259 --> 00:22:25.463 And so it kind of relaxes and eases them in. 00:22:25.463 --> 00:22:29.432 Because that was my first thought when I first moved there. 00:22:29.432 --> 00:22:32.821 I said we're at a disadvantage because it's not a school set up for an act program. 00:22:32.821 --> 00:22:33.913 We didn't have a facility. 00:22:33.913 --> 00:22:36.642 Um, it was just a typical school. 00:22:36.642 --> 00:22:38.188 We're in an urban area. 00:22:38.188 --> 00:22:41.676 There's not a lot of farmland or anything around there for us to go off of. 00:22:41.676 --> 00:22:45.935 I'm gonna have to teach these kids what agriculture is and teach them to love it. 00:22:45.935 --> 00:22:58.476 And they truly have fallen in love with agriculture and it's just so crazy to see those eighth graders now as juniors, where they're at and what they're capable of. 00:22:58.476 --> 00:23:03.531 Two of those girls that started with me in eighth grade have become district officers. 00:23:03.531 --> 00:23:05.295 They both wanted to go on track to be area officers. 00:23:05.295 --> 00:23:06.296 Become district officers. 00:23:06.296 --> 00:23:07.477 They both wanted to go on track to be area officers. 00:23:07.477 --> 00:23:19.393 It's just, there's been a lot of growth and I'm starting to see the hard works of what we did so for the people that are listening. 00:23:19.432 --> 00:23:22.122 You're hearing this incredible conversation and you're hearing about South Texas. 00:23:22.122 --> 00:23:26.173 I want to kind of put that in context for people that are not familiar with South Texas. 00:23:26.173 --> 00:23:31.943 Yes, a lot of times people say I say, have you ever been to South Texas? 00:23:31.943 --> 00:23:34.018 They said yes, I've been to San Antonio. 00:23:34.018 --> 00:23:36.017 And I said now, wait a second. 00:23:36.017 --> 00:23:51.173 I said let me help you understand that from San Antonio to Progreso, which is where Kat's at right, from San Antonio down, that far is right at four hours, it's right at 260 miles. 00:23:51.173 --> 00:24:03.277 Now to put this in even more context from where I live in North Texas to Progreso is nine hours, it's over 600 miles. 00:24:03.978 --> 00:24:24.604 And so when we talk about South Texas, the Rio Grande Valley, the Grandísimo Valle, you're talking about a stretch of land that goes right along the Texas-Mexico border and it's just lined with all of these great cities McAllen, west, laco, mercedes, donna all the way down. 00:24:24.604 --> 00:24:34.332 It just goes all the way down to the Gulf of Mexico and it's just an incredible part of Texas. 00:24:34.332 --> 00:24:35.575 If you've never experienced it, I highly recommend it. 00:24:35.575 --> 00:24:52.252 It's just a special place and I love talking about the Valley because I've enjoyed so much getting to know the people, the culture, the food, the la familia, the family connection, food, the la familia, the family connection. 00:24:52.252 --> 00:25:15.522 So I think all of that is important because when we're listening to you describe your students and describe some of those mental hurdles that they may have to get over, they have to have a mentor that helps them see beyond the city limits, that sees beyond the county, and I think that's kind of what you're lending to their discussion, is you're helping them see a bigger worldview. 00:25:17.590 --> 00:25:24.624 And I don't think I had ever put it into perspective until we started to expand and leave. 00:25:24.624 --> 00:25:26.973 A lot of my kids have never been outside of the Valley. 00:25:26.973 --> 00:25:49.574 When I love the Valley also because something I've learned to love being in that part, because obviously I'm from the Valley, but we are also the citrus capital where, where, where you find all of your citrus it's probably come from down here, and so I started to tie those connections to kids and I didn't realize just how much we were opening doors until we started to go to different events. 00:25:49.574 --> 00:25:56.296 Some of the only times my students have been out of the valley have been with FFA. 00:25:56.296 --> 00:25:58.101 We've traveled to Texas A&M. 00:25:58.101 --> 00:26:11.799 We've traveled to Texas Tech they love Texas Tech, by the way but they had never been past McAllen, they had never seen outside of the valley and I really enjoyed opening those opportunities to them. 00:26:11.840 --> 00:26:21.364 Because now I smile and smirk when they talk to other kids Because like, yes, that one time I went to tech and we judged horse judging, like they think they're the coolest things now because they've seen so much. 00:26:21.364 --> 00:26:34.818 But for some of my students that have never experienced anything like that, for them now to be like I think I can go to school here, Like that's where I'm like, OK, we're doing something right, they can see what they can do. 00:26:34.818 --> 00:26:42.202 Not that nothing's available for them in the valley, but I wanted them to open doors and I wanted them to see what they're capable of. 00:26:43.570 --> 00:26:45.958 Man, that's good, that's real good. 00:26:45.958 --> 00:26:47.563 Man, that's good, that's real good. 00:26:47.563 --> 00:27:08.269 No-transcript. 00:27:16.509 --> 00:27:23.503 Like I mentioned before, I always tie back to being open, and one of the biggest blessings I have in my life is the fact that I didn't grow up in agriculture, but now my life revolves around it. 00:27:23.503 --> 00:27:31.544 I had mentioned before, or I haven't mentioned it yet, but my husband's also an ag teacher, so we're a family of ag teachers. 00:27:32.287 --> 00:27:36.436 So you were telling me a little bit about your husband and go ahead and keep going from there. 00:27:37.358 --> 00:27:37.740 Yes, sir. 00:27:37.740 --> 00:27:39.810 So he's also an ag teacher. 00:27:39.810 --> 00:27:54.421 We met in college, going through the ag science program there at Kingsville, and I've learned how important support is through him because he's been there so much throughout my whole entire career. 00:27:54.421 --> 00:27:58.734 We started dating outside of me first getting my first job. 00:27:58.734 --> 00:28:06.461 He was always there for me when I was learning the ropes because he grew up in a family that was agriculture based. 00:28:06.461 --> 00:28:14.076 He grew up with his family owning a cattle business, which was always a dream of mine because I said I lived in a neighborhood, didn't have access to that. 00:28:14.210 --> 00:28:20.621 So he's really taught me all the things that it takes and the hard work to own and run a program. 00:28:20.621 --> 00:28:36.213 So his support has showed me what opportunities can provide to people, just knowing that you have somebody in your corner and knowing that there's always someone there to cheer you on and help you and teach you what you need to know. 00:28:36.213 --> 00:28:51.792 He's always taking the time and I think that's something that people need to do more of is to teach not only his students but myself and really just show me that everybody's capable of anything. 00:28:51.792 --> 00:28:52.575 You just have to try. 00:28:52.575 --> 00:29:15.807 And so he was one of my, is one of my biggest supporters and he's helped me get through and do a lot of what we do as a chapter, and so he's also taught me looking for opportunities for students and we've been able to figure out and find things that are available to our students and fit their their specialties. 00:29:15.807 --> 00:29:28.703 So we've figured out the opportunities that open when you are a good speaker, things learning those leadership skills that are super important to not just being successful in a contest but just being a good person. 00:29:29.329 --> 00:29:35.324 I think the FFA does such an amazing job of that because it teaches you those real life world skills. 00:29:35.324 --> 00:29:44.430 I feel like every coach says that they're teaching them lifelong skills and every teacher says they're teaching them lifelong skills. 00:29:44.430 --> 00:29:50.676 But I think this organization goes above and beyond when it talks about molding our students. 00:29:50.676 --> 00:30:05.011 Something my principal always says is I can tell our students from typical acts or typical ideas students right away, because our kids know how to shake a hand, they know how to talk to adults, they know how to advocate for themselves. 00:30:05.011 --> 00:30:08.801 They've done so much advocating for themselves in growing our chapter. 00:30:08.801 --> 00:30:17.750 And she says you don't see that, you don't see that in students outside of this organization, and so I've learned that that opens a lot of opportunities. 00:30:17.750 --> 00:30:18.913 It's not who you know. 00:30:18.913 --> 00:30:21.260 It's what you can do and what you bring to the table. 00:30:21.630 --> 00:30:23.396 And success begets success. 00:30:23.396 --> 00:30:26.559 So by teaching those kids those little things, they have success and they're like, wow, igets success. 00:30:26.559 --> 00:30:31.778 So by teaching those kids those little things, they have success and they're like, wow, I had success. 00:30:31.778 --> 00:30:36.057 Well, maybe I can have it over here, or maybe I can pursue it over here. 00:30:36.057 --> 00:30:38.809 And then the other thing that I like that you're doing. 00:30:38.809 --> 00:30:50.740 One of my favorite quotes from Tony Robbins is he says success leaves clues, and I love that, because your success, you're leaving clues for them. 00:30:50.740 --> 00:30:59.750 Their success, they're now leaving clues for the kids that are following in their footsteps and it's just going to keep getting better and better and better. 00:30:59.750 --> 00:31:01.554 So talk leadership with me. 00:31:01.554 --> 00:31:10.199 If you could give a kid three leadership skills and say here are three skills to be successful in life, what would they be? 00:31:11.726 --> 00:31:13.127 Number one is confidence. 00:31:13.127 --> 00:31:38.833 That's something that I lacked and I still lack at times, and that's why I say support is so important, because I am very much an overthinker when it comes to things and that's what limited me sometimes when it comes to putting myself out there and I kind of have to put myself in a mindset Like my husband says you've got this, you can do it, just try it, just try it. 00:31:38.833 --> 00:31:39.938 And so I have to. 00:31:39.938 --> 00:31:45.471 I have to put myself out there in a lot of ways and I think kids need to have that confidence. 00:31:45.471 --> 00:31:57.207 It's not being cocky, it's not being, it's not saying you're better than everyone else, it's just having the confidence in yourself to just take that chance with yourself, do what you need to do. 00:31:57.207 --> 00:32:02.905 So confidence, I feel, is key and I've humbled my kids a lot because I said you know what? 00:32:02.905 --> 00:32:04.651 You're not better than anyone, you're just good. 00:32:04.651 --> 00:32:09.151 You got to be better, you can always be better and we always look for opportunity to grow. 00:32:09.151 --> 00:32:12.096 So confidence is one of my best ones. 00:32:12.356 --> 00:32:17.467 I also think a good leadership skill to have is going to be responsibility. 00:32:17.467 --> 00:32:28.154 With roles comes a lot of responsibility, and I've learned that as I've gone through my career is you start to get offered things. 00:32:28.154 --> 00:32:31.201 Like you said, because you're successful, like you know what you'd be great at this. 00:32:31.201 --> 00:32:41.631 Like you said, because you're successful, like you know what you'd be great at this, you do this and so it's a lot of responsibility and it's making sure that you're able to not only be responsible for yourself, but if you're leading others, you need to be a good leader in that set. 00:32:41.631 --> 00:32:51.317 So being able to manage all the things you need to manage and be responsible for that, I think responsibility is a big leadership skill to have. 00:32:51.317 --> 00:32:56.257 The other one, I would have to say, is going to be vulnerability. 00:32:56.257 --> 00:33:03.470 I think that you need to be open to the ideas of others, because there's not always going to be. 00:33:03.470 --> 00:33:05.204 Your path changes, right. 00:33:05.204 --> 00:33:16.140 Like you said, you find clues to what you want to do, and just the change that I've seen in students has made me realize they're very vulnerable with me because they don't know what we're doing. 00:33:16.140 --> 00:33:18.430 I tell them to get ready for a contest. 00:33:18.430 --> 00:33:19.352 We're leaving in the morning. 00:33:19.352 --> 00:33:22.198 They're going to jump in and if they figure it out, they figure it out. 00:33:22.198 --> 00:33:31.385 Be open to it. 00:33:31.405 --> 00:33:33.632 Like a lot of them, I always use my Spanish creed eighth grade Spanish creed contestant as my example. 00:33:33.632 --> 00:33:39.645 I talk about this because she was a EB student, meaning Spanish was her first language. 00:33:39.645 --> 00:33:53.241 She wasn't the most confident when I got her, but she wanted to be active and she comes from a part of Mexico that has a very heavy diction. 00:33:53.241 --> 00:34:02.650 So me, naturally, I was like you know what it's going to be a challenge because, number one, it's your second language, you're still learning English. 00:34:02.650 --> 00:34:09.759 Number two, you're going to have to overcome that part of your life, right. 00:34:09.759 --> 00:34:11.443 And so I said you know what? 00:34:11.443 --> 00:34:12.326 What about Spanish creed? 00:34:12.326 --> 00:34:14.632 I said you speak beautiful Spanish. 00:34:14.751 --> 00:34:19.188 I said let's take advantage of this, let's let's be vulnerable and look at it together. 00:34:19.188 --> 00:34:22.333 And so I gave her the creed. 00:34:22.333 --> 00:34:25.764 She got the creed down and it's. 00:34:25.764 --> 00:34:31.688 It was just like a duck to water, like I can listen to her say the creed every day. 00:34:31.688 --> 00:34:32.588 She just has. 00:34:32.588 --> 00:34:37.411 It was her passion and they got her to that top five spot as an eighth grader. 00:34:37.411 --> 00:34:43.914 I never thought I would have that, to be able to say that we had a top five student in our first year chartering. 00:34:43.914 --> 00:34:49.117 So that kind of opened her doors to be vulnerable to other opportunities. 00:34:49.117 --> 00:34:57.041 Now she's our chapter president, she's a district officer, she wants to go to school to become an agricultural recruiter. 00:34:57.041 --> 00:35:06.018 She wants to work in agriculture and this is a little girl if she never was vulnerable, would not have that opportunity that she has now. 00:35:06.018 --> 00:35:12.047 So vulnerability it sounds like a weakness to some, but I think you need to be open to ideas. 00:35:12.748 --> 00:35:17.278 Every good leader that I deal with and that I communicate with, that I talk with. 00:35:17.278 --> 00:35:23.347 These are the very conversations we have, Because if you're not willing to be vulnerable, then you might not be coachable. 00:35:23.347 --> 00:35:37.275 Being vulnerable opens you up to be coachable and you know, sometimes you have to be willing to say critique me, Tell me what I can do better, Tell me where I might have missed an opportunity. 00:35:37.275 --> 00:35:45.815 And if you're coachable, that being coachable is a sign of vulnerability and most good leaders have that built into their DNA. 00:35:47.186 --> 00:35:55.757 And it's been amazing to see her grow into that leadership role, because she was a girl that didn't really talk a lot because she felt like she couldn't communicate. 00:35:55.757 --> 00:36:00.074 And to see her, she she's told me she's like Ms V, like I want to do. 00:36:00.074 --> 00:36:01.157 This is this, is it. 00:36:01.157 --> 00:36:14.594 She's like FFA is my priority, this is where I belong, and so she's been our biggest advocate for our students to see, like if Ximena can do it, I can do it, and so she's in her district leadership role. 00:36:14.594 --> 00:36:38.954 I've been just so proud of her because I feel like sometimes those higher level officers have that reputation where it's like, oh, it's so-and-so, whose daddy was an FFA and they came from this such great stock, which doesn't take any away from the kid, but I feel like it means a little bit more when you come from somewhere like she does, and you inspire those other kids, like my kids at Palm Beauty do better. 00:36:38.976 --> 00:36:41.221 Well, I appreciate so much of what you're sharing. 00:36:41.221 --> 00:36:51.315 People ask me all the time about all the podcasts that I've done and the people that I've had the honor of interviewing and talking to, and they've been great. 00:36:51.315 --> 00:37:10.137 But I got to say, when I hear your story, when I hear Kat Villareal's story, when I hear Justin Reyes's story, when I hear Archimedes Reyes's story, when I hear Lata Garcia's story especially three of y'all, because y'all come from the Rio Grande Valley it is very inspiring. 00:37:10.137 --> 00:37:38.454 It's inspiring because of some of the cultural norms that sometimes become barriers to taking risk, to stepping out, to trusting others, to finding those clues, and so when I hear y'all speak and I hear you on your journey, I hope that teachers and students alike will hear and say, wow, if they do it, maybe we can do it too. 00:37:38.454 --> 00:37:45.112 If Kat can do it and Della Cern has done it who's on the foundation board? 00:37:45.112 --> 00:37:51.487 And all these people that are just extraordinary young leaders, if they can do it, why can't I do it? 00:37:51.487 --> 00:37:54.673 And that's the reason I wanted you on the podcast. 00:37:54.894 --> 00:38:09.871 So you know one of the things I like to share with people is always ask them I said how many high schools are in Texas, and they always joke and somebody will say a lot yeah, so there's over 3000 high schools in Texas. 00:38:09.871 --> 00:38:15.295 Now think about this over 3000 high schools, how many of them are going to have a graduating class this coming year? 00:38:15.295 --> 00:38:17.186 Every one of them. 00:38:17.186 --> 00:38:22.027 That means kids are going to be out looking for a job, a scholarship or an opportunity. 00:38:22.027 --> 00:38:25.297