National FFA Week: Oak Ridge student strives to become FFA state officer

Oak Ridge R-VI junior Taylor Nothdurft spent much of her childhood in Branson. Her grandparents all owned farms, but she was a self-described "city girl" with little interest in agriculture.

That all changed when she was in the seventh grade.

She took an agriculture exploration course, and her class advisor told her mother he could see her fitting into the district's FFA program.

Four years later, Nothdurft is first vice president of Oak Ridge FFA, treasurer and president-elect of Missouri Area XV FFA, and a participant in several prestigious agricultural events and competitions.

"I'm engaged in almost every single school club that our school offers, but FFA is my No. 1 priority, always," she said. "I am here at every single event I can possibly be at."

In addition to various leadership roles, Taylor Nothdurft also competes at fairs as part of her FFA activities. She has competed at the SEMO District Fair, Du Quoin State Fair and Missouri State Fair.Submitted photo

Nothdurft also attended Missouri Agribusiness Academy for the top 30 FFA sophomores in the state; an Area Officer Institute in Lake of the Ozarks; an FFA Public Speaking Institute and state FFA convention, both in Columbia; a national FFA convention in Indianapolis; and a Meet the Governor Conference in Jefferson City.

Despite her accomplishments, Nothdurft has her eyes set on another achievement — becoming an FFA state officer.

Only 16 officers across the state are chosen each year.

These officers act as representatives of Missouri FFA, attending events statewide and beyond.

Each FFA activity Nothdurft participates in earns her points that will allow her to apply for the state officer role. She will send in an application and if selected will complete a series of interviews until the final choices are made.

Taylor Nothdurft (right) has met with Chris Chinn, director of the Missouri Department of Agriculture, among other agriculture officials. She has attended state and national FFA conventions.Submitted photo

"I know FFA can take me so many different places, and I want to take every opportunity I can, and I want to go to all those places," she said.

Nothdurft said becoming a state officer will help her on her way to becoming an agriculture education teacher so she can pass on her love of the subject to future generations.

"A lot of state officers go into ag ed ... it helps a lot if you do want to become a teacher. I think that it gives you a better understanding of how to prep your kids," Nothdurft said.

Fair dealings

In addition to her school and regional officer duties, Nothdurft is involved in several FFA career and leadership development events. These include speaking competitions, fair judging and showing pigs.

Showing pigs is a more recent endeavor for Oak Ridge junior Taylor Nothdurft. She started in her sophomore year of high school after a suggestion from her uncle.Submitted photo

The junior has shown her swine at SEMO District Fair, Du Quoin State Fair in Illinois and Missouri State Fair. She started showing her sophomore year of high school upon a recommendation from her uncle and won a first-time exhibitioner's grant to show at Missouri State Fair.

"I took showing a lot more seriously after that. I wanted to play with the big kids. I wanted to go to the state fair, and that's the real deal," Nothdurft said.

She participated in smaller "jackpot" showings to prepare for the state fair.

Nothdurft said her family is very supportive of taking her to all these FFA events.

Planning for the future

People around Oak Ridge know that Nothdurft is the person to talk to when it comes to finding out about FFA activities.

"My face is kind of correlated with Oak Ridge FFA," the junior said.

Each event is a big ordeal involving plenty of planning. The community and local businesses are always supportive of their high school's FFA chapter.

Nothdurft meets monthly with her officer teams to plan events.

Being so involved in FFA has helped prepare her for a career, Nothdurft added.

She has made friends and connections from across the state as a result of being in the program, and the interview and public speaking skills she's learned will help her when she graduates.

"Taylor has done an excellent job of not only herself getting involved but trying to get other FFA members involved and taking those younger members under her wing," Oak Ridge agriculture teacher Rich Thomas said.

He added she helps get younger students who might be nervous about joining FFA excited to take part in the program.

Nothdurft also inspired younger students through the Agriculture Education on the Move program she took part in. There, older FFA members taught third graders about the agriculture industry through a 10 week series of lessons.

It reaffirmed Nothdurft's commitment to her desired profession. She said she wants to inspire future generations to become as invested in agriculture just as her advisors inspired her.

"It's really just been a huge personal growth experience for me because I have been able to meet so many new people and step out of my comfort zone," she said. "I just really want to provide other kids with those kinds of opportunities, too."