Advocacy and Legislative Leadership Development (ALLD)

In late February I attended the Advocacy and Legislative Leadership Development workshop with a group of the Northern Burlington Regional High School FFA members. This was my first experience going to a workshop similar to this. I have attended different workshops during the Pennsylvania Association of Agricultural Educators, New Jersey Association of Agricultural Educators, and the National Association of Agricultural Educators conferences. However, I have never attended a conference meant for FFA members, having not come up through a program myself.


The students were all fairly interested in the topics discussed during the conference and they were able to ask questions to each of the presenters. Students from various schools asked well thought out questions of the presenters. Their questions helped to create a better understanding of what each speaker did to further their own leadership and advocacy skills.


The speakers described their own journeys and the various problems that they have faced on their journeys. The responses that they gave to the questions were based both on how they reacted in certain circumstances and what they feel they would have done differently. The advice, and life experience examples given to the students would serve as an example for how they might want to do later in life in regards to developing their leadership skills.


In addition to the speakers that were present the students also got the chance to talk to representatives from different colleges and universities including Rutgers and The Pennsylvania State University. These representatives informed the students of the different agriculturally related majors that each college has. Students also learned a bit about what each college or university is like to aid in their decision on what school they would like to attend.


This was an incredible opportunity for the FFA members who attended. Having not come up through an FFA or similar program myself, I see from an outside perspective how beneficial it is to have these opportunities. Knowing this I plan to encourage my future students to be more proactive in pursuing opportunities for personal development then I was during high school. By doing so I hope to aid my future students in improving their ability to succeed during college and their professional lives.