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Growing Our Future
Growing Our Future
"Grit and Humility"
In this insightful episode of Growing Our Future, host Aaron Alejandro sits down with Zoee Nolen, a 2022-2023 Texas FFA officer and junior at Texas A&M University. Zoee shares her remarkable journey, from growing up on a traditional West Texas farm to discovering a passion for agriculture through FFA after two major injuries derailed her sports career. Now a double major in Agricultural Communications & Journalism and Agricultural Economics, Zoee reflects on how her family's work in agriculture ignited her deep appreciation for the industry.
Zoee also discusses her involvement at Texas A&M, including her role as Vice President of Public Relations for the Student Council for the College of Agriculture and her work with AgriLife Communications. Additionally, she talks about her ambition to make an impact on the global stage, with plans to participate in the International Agricultural Education Fellowship Program in Ghana or Guatemala.
Story Notes:
- Gratitude is a key to personal growth and leadership.
- Zoee’s journey from sports to agriculture highlights the power of resilience.
- The role of FFA in shaping leadership and a deep connection to the agricultural industry.
- Zoee’s goal of working in international agriculture to promote sustainable practices.
Learn more at MyTexasFFA.org
Welcome to the Growing Our Future podcast. 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. Here's your host, Aaron Alejandro.
Speaker 2:Well, good morning, good afternoon or good evening or whenever you may be tuning into the Growing Our Future podcast. We appreciate the fact that you're dropping by and sharing a little bit of your time with us, and we appreciate the opportunity to share some of our time with you. And the reason that's important is because this podcast is all about bringing on guests, incredible guests that share their personal experiences, their insights, their expertise, in hopes that maybe in their time with us, we can find those little seeds of greatness that we can plant in our life and make our way just a little bit better. Greatness that we can plant in our life and make our way just a little bit better. Like we always say, if you want to know what the future is, grow it. Well, to grow it, you got to plant the right seeds, and I think we've brought on a great guest today to help us plant some seeds of greatness. Ladies and gentlemen, it's an honor to introduce you to Zoe Nolan Zoe, thank you for joining us.
Speaker 3:Thank you for having me, Mr Alejandro.
Speaker 2:We're going to learn more about Zoe here in a minute. She's a 2022-23 Texas FFA officer. She's from a little town in West Texas called Seminole. You're going to learn more about Zoe here in a second. But, Zoe, we start every podcast off with the same question. I love to ask my guests this question what are you grateful for today?
Speaker 3:Oh, what am I grateful for today? Well, there's a lot, I think. One of the big things that I'm really grateful for, particularly today, is the weather. It's warm. I love the summer months. It gives me an opportunity to get outside and spend some time with some fresh air. And then, of course, I'm grateful for my family and my friends, and I'm grateful for you and for asking me to be here today.
Speaker 2:Oh, you're too nice. Well, I agree with you. I love the outdoors, by the way. I absolutely love the outdoors, so I love good weather. I also appreciate, like you said, family and friends and good connections. I mean, it's amazing, I think, sometimes, if we'll just pause and reflect on what we have to be grateful for, we tend to be a little happier, a little more energetic and realize that there's a lot of good out there, in spite of maybe all the negative that surrounds us sometimes. So that's why we always like to start the podcast with gratitude.
Speaker 3:I think it's a great way to start the podcast. It's a great way to start your day, even that's exactly right.
Speaker 2:I'm glad you said that. Zoe. So I had an opportunity to get to know you. I kind of watched you kind of through your FFA career. But for the people that may not know your background, would you just kind of take us through how you ended up? What are you about? A junior or senior now at A&M?
Speaker 3:I'll be a junior at Texas A&M Okay.
Speaker 2:So I know you didn't just fall into that chair. So why don't you take us through a little bit of your journey that led you to where you are right now at Texas A&M University and tell us a little bit about what you're majoring in and why?
Speaker 3:Yeah, of course. So I was raised by my parents they're wonderful people out in West Texas in a little town called Seminole, about an hour and a half from Lubbock, texas and I was raised heavily in the agriculture industry. So we raised a lot of row crops peanuts, cottons and the sorts and then we also had a little bit of cattle that we raised more of a cow-calf operation. I was just really immersed in the agricultural world. I grew up in it, riding in the tractor with my dad and my granddad that super traditional background. It was something that I actually ended up, when I got a little older, kind of rejecting.
Speaker 3:I fell in love with sports and sports were my thing. When I was younger, especially throughout, like middle school and the early years of high school, it was really like what I cared about. I played volleyball and volleyball was where most of my focus was. I also played basketball, I ran cross country, I ran track, I did all the things and that's what I really cared about and I thought that's what I was going to end up going to college for was volleyball. Then I ended up tearing not one but two ACLs my sophomore and junior year of high school and I was already involved in FFA because it was kind of the natural thing to do. I already showed hogs and I was very involved in my chapter and then the way that my ACL surgeries kind of lined up it gave me even more encouragement to be involved in the FFA. And so when I tore my first ACL, I ended up running for district office.
Speaker 3:I tore my second ACL, I ended up running for area office and then ultimately I truly fell in love with the agriculture industry and really realized what I was missing out on that. What my family was doing was truly a noble thing. Not a lot of people can say their dad contributes to feeding the world, but I could and that was pretty cool and really I started to recognize the importance of the agriculture industry and the like, relevance and just pure meaning behind the FFA that other organizations may not have. Ffa is a fantastic leadership organization. I think it's the best one out there. There's other organizations that teach leadership Like I learned leadership when I played sports as well, but the meaning behind the FFA is just so much deeper than the meaning behind the other things I was doing, and whenever I became super passionate about that I was always going to be an Aggie, I'll just say it.
Speaker 3:I came home from the hospital in an A&M onesie because my dad was an Aggie and I was brainwashed from an early age and so I had my heart set on Texas A&M. I didn't apply anywhere else but I decided to major in agriculture and so right now I'm a double major in agricultural communications and journalism and agricultural economics at Texas A&M. I absolutely love my majors. If you ask me what I want to do in the future, that's where it gets a little trickier.
Speaker 3:I'm not 100% certain, but I have gained a little bit of guidance and clarity over the past year and I want to do something in international ag. There's a program I really want to start whenever I graduate and it's called the International Agricultural Education Fellowship Program and you spend around a year in either Ghana or Guatemala starting the equivalent of a 4-H club in those third world countries and teaching them sustainable agriculture to the youth there, and that's kind of where my head's at for after graduation. But right now I'm heavily involved at Texas A&M. I'm the vice president of public relations for the student council for the College of Ag. I also work for AgriLife on their communications and marketing team as a student worker and I love how it ties me directly in with the college and I get to work closely with staff and with our dean and just continue to build those connections and really make the most of my time at Texas A&M.
Speaker 2:Wow, Junior. So how old are you now, Zoe? I know I'm not supposed to ask that, but I'm going to ask.
Speaker 3:I just turned 20.
Speaker 2:What a resume Already at 20 years old. Zoe, you need to be proud of that, and I'm proud of you. You've given us a lot, by the way, I hope. One of the things that I like about doing these podcast interviews is what I hope people hear is when people are sharing their testimony, there's somebody out there that's going to be able to relate to that.
Speaker 2:I guarantee you there's somebody out there who's also into sports and they might run into a hurdle that makes you, you know, kind of deters them into another direction. And so the fact that you've taught us that you can look for other options to it's okay to to maybe move away, but come back to something, and then and then, as you begin to engage more, I think you're able to see more. Zig Ziglar always said go as far as you can see, and when you get there, you'll always be able to see further. And when I look at your journey and just the comments that you've shared just in the first five, 10 minutes of this interview, that's exactly what you've done. You've gone to a point, but when you got there, you're now looking further, saying, well, what about this or what about that? So I just want to compliment you on that.
Speaker 3:Well, thank you. I'm honestly glad that I was as involved in sports as I was, because it made me truly appreciate what my family had in the agriculture industry I was raised in, and I think it gave me a deeper, more profound appreciation for that, and that's where I'm at right now.
Speaker 2:Oh, that's great, that's great for that, and that's where I'm at right now. Oh, that's great, that's great. I also like the fact that you're looking beyond just the borders, our domestic borders, and you're looking at the international scope. One of the programs that I was involved with for a while, when it was really going full steam, was the Latinos in Agriculture Leadership Conference, and I remember one time I was there and there was a young man there Interestingly enough, he was from A&M and he was from Pakistan, interestingly enough, and so I asked him out of curiosity because that's the way I am, I'm just curious and I said, ok, you're an international student, but you're at the Latinos in Agriculture Leadership Conference.
Speaker 2:I said, okay, you're an international student, but you're at the Latinos in Agriculture Leadership Conference, and he said I'm always looking for opportunities to find out more about what's going on around the world. So as we began to talk, he told me that what his major was at A&M and that his hope was to go back home and help some of the countries that were struggling with food sources meeting their food needs, and so I thought, man, there's no doubt this kid's going to go far, because he's got something in his mind that becomes a target. And what do they say about goals? Goals are targets that beckon, and so when you start seeing those little goals, you start moving toward those, and so I just wanted to compliment you that it's not that you may ever end up there, but you may end up there with a chance to gain knowledge that you bring home and maybe you instill that in somebody else, or maybe that you bring that back to y'all's agricultural operations. Yeah, I just think it's a great thing that you're doing.
Speaker 3:Thank you, I love it. I love just widening my worldview and learning more and seeing things in life. That is kind of different. I think perspective is everything, and the more you widen your perspective, the more knowledgeable you can be when you make decisions, and so so let's stay with that for a second.
Speaker 2:And just for just a point of reference, folks, one of the reasons that I wanted Zoe to come on to this podcast is because I have, in the last two years, kind of lived vicariously through her travels abroad and I'm talking in a very short period of time. This young lady has been all over the world. Zoe, would you just take us through some of the places you and I'm telling everybody this is in the last two years Take us through some of the places that you've been and some of your takeaways from those experiences.
Speaker 3:Yes, for sure. So you said it was the last two years, but I'll be really honest, it's been the last probably six months that it's really picked up. So when I was younger, I dreamed of traveling, like that was the one thing I've always wanted to do. But I was always busy. I was showing hogs, I was playing sports. So travel wasn't something my family really prioritized, because any of the traveling we were doing it was for those extracurricular activities. But I always told myself one day I would travel the world.
Speaker 3:Well, my freshman year of college I was a state officer, so I was a little bit dizzy. I had things on my plate all the time and I absolutely loved my year of service, but traveling wasn't as feasible during that time. But whenever I started my sophomore year of college, I realized that this was my opportunity. I'm young, I'm not married, I don't have kids. This is one of the easiest and most affordable times that I can travel and pursue my dream, and the only thing holding me back at that point was myself, and so I made it my goal that I was going to start traveling now and I wasn't going to make excuses for it. So the first trip I went on, I had never been overseas before. But the first trip I went on was actually one of my teammates. He studied abroad. His name's Logan. He was one of my state officer teammates for clarification there and he was studying abroad in Milan, italy, for an entire semester. And before he left I told him I said, logan, I'm going to come see you for spring break. And he kind of laughed. I'm super spontaneous and I say all kinds of things and it really just depends if I actually follow through on it. And saying that I was going to pay for a trip for myself to Italy was kind of out there. So he thought I was kidding and so I made it my goal.
Speaker 3:So over Christmas break I asked my parents. I said, mom, dad, if I saved up enough money theoretically to go to Europe for spring break. Is that like could I do it? And they're like, yeah sure, they had no faith that I was actually going to save up enough of my money to afford to go to Europe for spring break. So I started saving as soon as I got back and got to work here in College Station I did not go to the grocery store for three months. I only ate ramen. That was very college fashion to me and I saved every penny I could because I wanted to be able to go Eventually. I saved up enough money. I ended up booking a flight in my office at work one day and I texted Logan and said, hey, I'm coming, and he ended up finding us travel to.
Speaker 3:We went to London and Paris also during that week and it was absolutely, absolutely chaotic. It was so much fun. He's one of my best friends in the world and we really just got to experience those things that not a lot of college kids have the opportunity to, and I think it's a really cool experience. Now, seeing things, I will say Europe it's not the same as the US, but there are a lot of similarities. So it did. It did widen my perspective, but not as much as some of my trips I'm about to lot of similarities. So it did. It did widen my perspective, but not as much as some of my trips I'm about to get to did, but it was truly one of the coolest things and the amount of pride I felt that I had set that as my goal and I had saved my money and put that effort towards that and accomplished it. I was. That was something I did at 19 years old, and that was something I walked away very proud of and we had a blast.
Speaker 3:And I'll insert a little funny story here um, logan and I were doing this the very cheap way, so we were staying in hostels. Our modes of transportation were interesting, to say the least. So when we were in London and we wanted to go to Paris, we decided to book an overnight bus because we didn't have to pay for a hostel for that night and also it was the cheapest mode of transportation, and it was $30. And so what could go wrong, right? Wow. So we ended up on this overnight bus that we thought was going to go under the tunnel underneath the English Channel. We ended up. There were only eight people on the bus. We were the only two that spoke English. We ended up on a ferry in the middle of the night, a huge ferry with approximately 20 people on it. It was one of the eeriest experiences ever there. For a minute we really questioned our decision, but we made it to Paris safely and we have a story we can tell to anyone at any time. So that's really great. But that was my first international experience.
Speaker 3:The next two were actually through Texas A&M, the first one I went. Almost a week after I got back from Europe I went to San Miguel de Allende, mexico, and that was through a program at Texas A&M University. It came to my email and it was an opportunity to go to Mexico where it was a highly subsidized cost, and so I applied for this program, kind of shot in the dark, I didn't know much about it and it was with one of our associate deans, dr Curtin, and she takes us to Mexico and it's truly a cultural experience. So the idea behind it is learning the culture of Mexico and because that just widens your perspective so much, and so we had a class for it, and so in the weeks leading up to the trip we'd go to class every Friday and she would share stories about Mexico. We did research projects, me and my group did the food and other projects, did art and music, and we really just like immersed ourselves in Mexican history and their culture.
Speaker 3:And then we got to go to Mexico and actually experience it. We also visited a high tech and a low tech farm there and that was one of the most eye-opening experiences I have ever had. So we started out going to the high tech farm and it was very similar to something you would see in the US Very similar. They had drip irrigation and they had different chemicals that they were mixing in with their water. Just a very high-tech operation. And then that afternoon we completely flipped a switch and we went to a low tech operation where it was one guy with less than an acre of land that he plowed by hand using a mule, and we as students got to try to do that by ourselves. We got to actually use that plow that was attached to the mule and I did one pass and I broke a sweat.
Speaker 3:And it was one of like the most challenging things I had ever done and it truly, truly opened my eyes, because you hear about people doing that, but until you actually experience it it's really hard to grasp what they're actually doing and how challenging that can be, but that they're doing that to provide for their family the same opportunities to have that same technology at that high-tech farm, and that is something that I think will stick with me for the rest of my life. It was just such an eye-opening experience. And then, lastly, that was Mexico. For the most part I can't tell you all about it, but then, lastly, I spent about a month in Namibia, which is a country in Africa it's right above South Africa and that was a study abroad I did through Texas A&M with a professor named Dr Jack Elliott. He is one of the most phenomenal humans on the planet and I'm actually super excited because I have the opportunity to possibly go back to Namibia next May as a teaching assistant if I can recruit 15 Texas A&M students to enroll in the program, and that's my goal right now is to recruit enough kids to go back that I also get to go.
Speaker 3:But Namibia was truly amazing. I had never been to Africa. I did not know at all what to expect. I went into it kind of blind. We had done our research, but it was just truly so much different than what I'm used to. So, like I said, europe has some similarities to America. Africa does as well, but it's a much lesser, much less similarities than there are to America, than there are in Europe.
Speaker 3:And so, while we were there, it was just amazing to see the slow pace of life that they have, and it was just everything was so much in Africa. Yes, okay, okay. It was just so slow, everyone. There wasn't as much of a hurry and a bustle as you see here and then one of the.
Speaker 2:Can I ask you why? Why do you think that it was that way?
Speaker 3:Go ahead.
Speaker 2:Why do you think it was slow?
Speaker 3:I think partially is they are less developed than we are and I think that that has to do with it. A lot of the people. It was also heartbreaking because the distribution of wealth in Namibia is actually very extreme and there is a very high percentage of the population living in extreme poverty and you just see students just walking to school and people outside sitting at booths selling their craft booth selling their craft, and it just here. There's just so much corporate work and hustle and bustle to get to the next place and the next appointment and there it's just a simpler time.
Speaker 3:And but the thing that was the most amazing about it all was they all had smiles on their face. They weren't upset that they were in that situation. They weren't throwing themselves a pity party or woe is me but they were truly and genuinely happy and they were trying to make opportunities for ourselves. We went to this place called Penduka and actually I have a bag right here that I got from Penduka and what Penduka is? It is a group of women who they don't have as many opportunities to work in Namibia, and so it's a group of women who came together, created this place called Penduka, and it's where women can come to get a second income for their families by doing their crafts and that might look like hand embroidery, like the bag I just showed you. They also break up glass bottles and make their own beads, and they're genuinely so happy when they're doing it.
Speaker 3:We got to meet with them and talk with them and learn about what they do, and it is one of the coolest things. Their mission was just amazing to give those women just an opportunity and a chance to have a job, and it was just crazy, like the things that we take for granted here are just so much more apparent when you go somewhere where their way of life is so much different, and so Africa was really cool, and getting to learn about that and just really see the difference in that slower pace of life that I had never really witnessed before was truly an amazing experience, and all three trips were awesome and I'm just glad that I'm getting to travel. I don't think there's a good reason for me to say no to an opportunity to go abroad right now, and things could be different, so I need to take this opportunity while I can and jump on it and act on it.
Speaker 2:Boy. You just so much, oh my goodness, boy, you just so much, oh my goodness, so much you just shared is so valuable. I hope people are listening intently to what you just shared. I love the fact that you're, you saw an opportunity and you're making yourself available. I love the fact that you talked about making sacrifices to get to the goal. You didn't have to do that, but it was important to you so you're willing to, and I know the Roman noodle routine too, so I know what you're talking about. You know you made some sacrifices to get to the goal. Your willingness to soak up the experience, the awareness.
Speaker 2:My son and I my oldest son and I we went and worked in an orphanage in Chihuahua, mexico, and we know, I know exactly what you're talking about. You know it's just it's not as developed the things you know. I remember coming back and you know we would tell all the kids just throw your cell phone and radios and cameras on a table and they're like, oh no, you know we don't want them to get taken. So, trust me, just throw them on the table. And they'd throw them on the table because the kids that were there, they just wanted to play, they just wanted somebody to play with them. They were orphans, they just wanted somebody to be with them. And I remember on our way back I was asking them I said what did you learn? And they said just how much we have. And they don't. And I said, but don't forget, they don't miss what they've never had. And so, to your point, the little things in their life just make them grateful. They're happy.
Speaker 2:I support another ministry called Jacaranda Ministries, very much like Penduka that you're describing, and it's some doctors here in Wichita Falls and they go over and provide services to this little village and over time they've seen their health improve, they've seen their education improve. But the whole experience, when you're taking it all in the whole experience, you learn just how much agriculture affects all these things. When the doctors are there and they, the kids, come up and they ask them what's wrong with you, and they'll point to their head and they'll point to their tail end and they'll say worms and worms. And little kids are telling you the five parasites that live in their gut. And that's the reason the doctors, you know one of the first things they put in for is wormers and vitamins.
Speaker 2:But that's not something that we would think about. We would think about, let's just send food. Well, the challenge is you're sending food, but the parasites are the ones winning the battle. They don't have the same refrigeration system we have. They don't have access to clean water Just what you've shared alone. Even Europe, milan versus Africa, and maybe even parts of Mexico. We see these distinction of what the challenges in our world really look like. And they are. They are big. They are big challenges.
Speaker 3:Yes, sir, but I think to your point.
Speaker 2:There's opportunity because of that.
Speaker 3:Yes and I think that that was one of the biggest conclusions I drew at the end of my travel is I want to do something, that where I can be involved in these different communities and I can do my part in helping them and helping people back home. And I don't know exactly what that looks like, but I do want to get my toes in international waters and really just learn with them and grow with them and continue to develop my perspective, and I think now again is one of the only times I can do it. That's why I'm looking to do something international as soon as I graduate, because I think this is the prime time where I don't have a family to worry about. It's just me, and I'll miss my mom and dad and my grandparents if I do it. But I think this is the best opportunity I'll have and you got to act on it when you get an opportunity like this.
Speaker 2:Well, I'm proud of you for doing it and I think you're absolutely right, and I appreciate the fact that you're willing to share. I'm also appreciative of the fact that you're willing to pour this into other people, because somebody may be listening right now in a classroom and their mind is now saying, wow, maybe I can do something like that, maybe I can travel and have those experiences. And, by the way, it won't matter where you go. I mean, I've talked to people that have been to Australia. I've talked to people that have been to Australia. I've talked to people that have been to Iceland, to New Zealand, to Greenland, obviously, africa, south America you know we've had state officers that have gone there. It's the fact that we get to see beyond you know this fact. We get to see beyond our block. It's the fact that we get to see beyond our city limits. We get to see beyond our county line, beyond our state line, and then I've been in every state in the country except for Alaska. It's a great experience to take in and see what cultures are like, what food is like.
Speaker 2:I remember asking one of my board members he used to be the head of All Flex Tags and he was from New Zealand, I believe originally Brian Bolton and I asked Brian, I said you travel abroad, you travel around the world. How is it different than here? And what's interesting is what he shared is exactly what you've shared. He said Aaron, it's not. He said they're just like us, they want to provide for their families. They're just like us. They laugh, they dance, they tell jokes, they have heartache. And what he did just like what you just shared he's put it in perspective that we're really all pretty much the same. Sometimes we're just a little more grateful because we realize it, and sometimes we just work harder because we're not aware that we're not supposed to.
Speaker 3:Yes, sir.
Speaker 3:And you said that so beautifully, it's so cool and everywhere I've traveled, one of my favorite things is talking to the locals and it's crazy how easily you can connect with those people that you just you may assume they're different than you, but we're all really like you said, we're so similar and it's so easy to make those connections and learn from them and learn from their experiences and get to share some of my own experiences. I remember I had one conversation and was trying to explain what FFA was at one point when I was in Africa and trying to explain that that was completely foreign to them, when here, I would say, a majority of the general public. They may not know exactly what FFA is, but they have a general understanding, maybe at least what the letters stand for.
Speaker 3:And so that was something that stood out to people.
Speaker 2:Well, no doubt that's a challenge. Language barriers are a legitimate challenge.
Speaker 3:They are yes.
Speaker 2:I remember I had the opportunity to hear Hugh Grant at the time, who was the president and CEO of Monsanto, and he was traveling over in Africa and they came up to this village in a school and all the kids were out underneath the tree and he said, oh, that's great, you got the kids outside, they're getting fresh air. He said that's wonderful and they said, no, mr Grant, you don't understand this is an arid land and we can't hardly get anything to grow.
Speaker 2:But you guys invented a drought tolerant seed and now we've got to harvest and the problem is we've now harvested so much that the only place we have left to store it is the schoolhouse. And he said we have a language barrier to the village down the road and we can't communicate to them that we have food. There's a river over here that prevents us from getting grain across to this other village, and so when we think about the opportunities in agriculture, they're huge. They're the ability to communicate, they're the ability to engineer, they're the ability to use science to produce food with limited resources. When I think about protein production, you know it's real easy in our country to think about. You know, I worked at Boys Ranch. I remember we used to harvest 10 hogs and five beef a week. When I went to Texas Tech, I cut meat. That's my first job was I was a meat cutter. But where you've been and what you've seen, they don't have coal storage like we have. They don't have the water capacity to really clean a carcass, maybe the way it needs to be cleaned. So protein is going to become a real issue when we start thinking about food sources around the world and you know we debate so many things in this country.
Speaker 2:I might have shared the story with you when you were a state officer, but I went to Area 3 to a large Houston area school and spoke for a day and I remember the teacher told me she said Aaron, I've got practice in vegans and vegetarians. And I said that's fine. So I went the whole day and finally this one young lady came up to me at the end of the day and she said Mr Alejandro, I'm a practice in vegan. What do you think about that? And I said I think that's great. And she said well, you don't think your way's better, don't you have cattle? And I said well, yeah, but what part of my presentation did you not understand? People are going to die today from starvation. I said you know, if you think we can get there on a plant, let's have that discussion. If I think we can get there with some animal protein, let's have that discussion.
Speaker 2:But why don't we feed people first and debate later?
Speaker 3:That's so true.
Speaker 2:And I think that's part of the challenges and I appreciate again the fact that you've seen. It allows you to provide a testimony that nobody can ever say that didn't happen to you. The fact that you've experienced, that you got your hands there. Nobody can ever say, Zoe, that's not what it's like over there. You get to say it is, and let me tell you about it because you experienced.
Speaker 3:Yes, I think one of the coolest things about that and about what I've really learned is that I grew up in an agricultural background and I never thought I would come back and be involved in an agricultural background. That's just because I thought I had to be working on my dad's farm or working with cattle in order to be involved in agriculture. But I've learned and I knew this before my travels, but it's even further solidified just how diverse the opportunities in agriculture really are. It's like I have this passion for travel and international experience and I have this passion for agriculture and there are so many different jobs that I can pursue that intertwine those perfectly. And had you asked me that before my time in the FFA, I would have thought that you were absolutely crazy if you told me that and I would have thought there would never be a way that I could intertwine international experience and agriculture. But there are two peas in a pod and the opportunity is truly endless because the whole world needs to eat.
Speaker 2:You have no idea how much I appreciate what you're saying. I've had kids, by the way, former FFA members that were through our ambassador program that applied for internships and stuff, and I remember on more than one occasion I've had them come back and say I'd like to do this internship, but I have this opportunity to travel abroad. And I remember telling them then you're not working for me and they would be a little shocked that I would say that and I'd say, listen, I love the fact that you want to come back and serve, but if you've got that opportunity, I really need you to go experience it. I need you to go take it in because the value that you're going to bring back from that experience is going to be far greater than any experience that I can give you through the foundation, even though they're great experiences. Don't take me wrong.
Speaker 2:That is a very unique experience and I'm just so glad that you've had it. And again, that's the reason why I really wanted you on this podcast is I wanted you to share that and you've done it, and you've done it beautifully, by the way. You've been very articulate in the way that you've shared it. You've shared it with clarity and I'm hopeful that the students and the teachers and the guests that are listening are really going to be able to assimilate the value of what you've just shared, because it's really good.
Speaker 3:Thank you All right, so let's talk a little bit.
Speaker 2:You've already see, I was going to ask you about opportunities in agriculture. Well, you've covered that, so let's, and you've talked. You talked a little bit about FFA, what it did for you, that kind of lent itself. I mean. I would just be curious you know, what skills did you learn in FFA that you're learning, you're still using today and that you applied when you were in a foreign country?
Speaker 3:Perfect. Yes, so the FFA is a really cool program. We all know this. It's a CTE program and it offers you a ton of skills. Really cool program, we all know this, it's a CTE program and it offers you a ton of skills.
Speaker 3:I wasn't somebody who really learned those hands-on applicable skills like welding or anything like that. That wasn't my cup of tea. For some students and for some FFA members, that is perfect. That is awesome. I wasn't into that kind of thing, and so I think that's part of the reason I was kind of initially deterred from the FFA. But little did I realize that I actually learned a ton of skills in the FFA that I may not have initially recognized, that have led me and shaped me into exactly who I am today, and I think really those are the leadership skills, the grit, the humility that the FFA taught me, and so leadership's a big one.
Speaker 3:I served as an officer in different capacities and that really gives you an opportunity to learn how you yourself can be the best leader and what it looks like to be a good leader and to put members first and others first and to have that selfless attitude. Grit is probably the biggest thing I think the FFA taught me I was always the bridesmaid, never the bride. I got second at state and so many different things, and I think it can be really easy to let that discourage you and make you want to give up, but it's taught me grit like no other and that has meant the world to me in my college studies, in my travels. It took grit to eat ramen for three months and to really stay focused on that goal, and the only reason I knew how to do that was because I learned it through the FFA, because I would set these goals in the FFA and I would have challenges, I would have hurdles and things would come up as roadblocks, but I just continued to persevere and I had my ag teachers, I had my family and I had my friends to encourage me and ultimately I learned that you can't give up and sometimes, even if you give 100% effort, you may not win, and that's okay.
Speaker 3:And I think that's where I really learned humility. You don't have to be the best, because as long as you gave your best and you know that, you can confidently say that that's really all that mattered. And so I think those three things are some of the skills that have really helped me not only in college but in pursuing my dreams and other capacities, like travel, because they're important and they're important for anything. And I learned those three skills not in my literature classroom but in my ag classroom and it's something that I think I will carry with me forever and I am eternally grateful that the FFA taught me that.
Speaker 2:Wow, what else can I ask? You're providing all this incredible wisdom and you know I can't wait to see where you end up, Um, and you know I can't wait to see where you end up. Um, the the want to, that you have the willingness to think outside of the box, the willingness to bring that grit to the table, the fact that you're a happy person, that you're a grateful person. You don't have a sense of entitlement, you have a sense of I want to go out and do something good, All of those things. I just cannot wait to see where you land, because I think we're already very proud of you. I know your mom and dad have got to be, and your grandparents. I can't wait to see where you end up and the difference that you're going to make. You're already making it. You and I have no idea.
Speaker 2:Mike Rowe was on the podcast and Mike Rowe and I were talking and I like what he said one time. He said you know they call us broadcasters in the world of multimedia, and he said that's an agricultural term, because broadcasting is what they would farmers would do with seeds, and so when I thought about the podcast and growing our future, that's what we're doing. We're broadcasting your incredible insights, we're broadcasting this hope of opportunity, we're broadcasting the blessing of what we have in this country, and so thank you so much for all that you've shared. It is incredible.
Speaker 3:Oh, thank you. That means a lot. I can remember being younger and looking up to different people state officers and the FFA and thinking I could never do the things that they're doing, and I want anybody who's listening, who might be younger than me yes, you can. Don't let anybody tell you you can't. It's all up to you, it's all up to your mindset and, like I said earlier, just having that grit to keep trying. If you fall down, get up again. No goal is too big, and if you don't reach your goal exactly how you planned for it, it means God had a greater plan and to set another goal and to keep on getting up and trying. And so that's the only reason I'm here where I'm at today is because I've had people who supported me and I dreamed big and chased them as hard as I could.
Speaker 2:So Well, we're going to end on that, because that is really good. So, but you do get one last fun question. All of my guests get one last fun question. I'm just curious Zoe Nolan, what is the best concert you've ever been to?
Speaker 3:Oh, oh, that's hard, because I just went to really two good ones this summer and it's like a tie. I went to a Zach Bryan concert last week actually, and it was phenomenal. I've been a Zach Bryan fan for years, before he even blew up. I've been a Zach Bryan fan. But then the one that ties with it is, I went to a Noah Kahn concert um, kind of like country indie I don't know how to classify him, but I'm a huge fan of his music and I went to one at the beginning of the summer and it was like outdoors and an amphitheater and just the vibes were immaculate. Sorry, sorry, that was so Gen Z of me, but and it was great, I loved it.
Speaker 2:I got to tell you, asking that question to the people that I've had on here. The scope is unbelievable from you know, sinatra, michael Bublé, sarah Bareilles, all the way to King George, to Metallica and Pitbull. So I love it. I love it, zoe. Thank you so much for sharing some of your time with us today. Really appreciate it To all of our listeners. Thank you again for stopping by the Growing Our Future podcast.
Speaker 2:I don't know about the folks that are going to watch this. If you're a young person, I hope you're looking up to Zoe and you're saying, wow, maybe I can do that. Look, she told me that I could do it. And maybe, if you're somebody like me that's got a few gray hairs, you listen to this young lady and you're that much more hopeful for our future that this is the person that's going to become the role model for my granddaughter and my grandson and my youngest. I mean, this is why I do my job, because I get to work with people like this and this is how we grow the future right here. This is how we grow the future. We share incredible ideas in a country full of incredible opportunities and we have a support system that will get us to that door.
Speaker 2:It can't get us through the door. We got to take advantage. Zoe said you've got to be the one to push through, but we're going to do everything we can to get you there. So thanks for stopping by the Growing Our Future podcast, remember. If you want to know what the future is, grow it. Listen to everything Zoe said today. Plant those seeds of greatness and grow an incredible future. And oh, by the way, until we meet again, go do something great for somebody else. Trust me, you're going to feel great about it and the world's going to be better because you did.
Speaker 1:Thank you all for joining us. We hope you've enjoyed this episode of the Growing Our Future podcast. This show is sponsored by the Texas FFA Foundation, whose mission is to strengthen agricultural science education so students can develop their potential for personal.
