FFA members from across the state spent the day at St. Cloud State University competing in seven Leadership Development Event (LDE) categories. Yasin, a freshman, took first place in the first-ever Somali Creed Speaking invitational. VanDyke, in eighth grade, won the English Creed Speaking event and Schoenfeld placed first in Employment Skills while in her senior year.

“I was happy. This is my first year in FFA, so I was surprised I won, and I was excited, too,” Yasin said of his win. “When I got up there, I was nervous. I [gained] confidence as I went on.”

In the Creed Speaking event, members must recite the entire FFA Creed from memory and answer questions from the judges regarding what the Creed means, its importance and applying it to everyday life.

Being the state’s first Somali Creed Speaking winner in his first year being a part of FFA, Yasin impressively also noted that he can speak Somali fluently, but had to re-learn how to read it, detailing, “I remember when I was younger, I think I used to read it (Somali), but I think it came back to me.”

Photo by Matt Addington Photography: Russell-Tyler-Ruthton eighth grader Brayden VanDyke took first place in the English Creed Speaking event at the Future Farmers of America Winter Leadership Summit state competition on Dec. 15 at St. Cloud State University.

All three area students said they put in a lot of preparation for their LDE, and said they were excited upon finding out they finished at the top of their competitions.

“I practiced every morning up until the Region 6 contest before school with my advisors. I was lucky to place first at regions and qualify for the Winter Leadership Summit,” VanDyke said, who’s in his second year of FFA. “I took a two-day break, then got back at it nearly every morning. I also practiced saying the FFA Creed to some classmates of mine, to get me used to feeling nervous and to answer a lot of questions.”

The Creed Speaking LDE is open to active members from seventh to ninth grade.

There was also a Spanish and Hmong invitational Creed Speaking event, won by Humboldt’s Salome Domingues Plasenia and Highland Park’s Marcella Lee, respectively.

Schoenfeld and VanDyke both advance to the FFA National Convention next fall with their wins, while the Somali and Hmong Creed Speaking LDE’s were invitationals and debut events this year, and do not currently have a national competition.

Photo by Matt Addington Photography: Russell-Tyler-Ruthton senior Jilian Schoenfeld won first place in the Employment Skills Leadership Development Event at the Future Farmers of America Winter Leadership Summit state competition on Dec. 15 at St. Cloud State University.

“Super competitive kids that are as coachable as Brayden and Jilian are super fun, and match my own competitive nature,” RTR advisor Jennifer Boersma said. “That said, every kid in the chapter has a place, and there is a place for every kid in the chapter. Every experience has value and builds leaders well beyond the years they spend in the blue jacket.”

“(I am) very excited (for nationals). I thought my presentation in the finals went really well and I was super excited to be on stage with the other kids, and see if it was enough to end up at the top,” VanDyke added. “The other FFA members in the Creed Speaking LDE are really good speakers, and may even have been doing it longer than me. I am really excited to think about how to prepare for nationals and represent Minnesota on the national level.”

For Schoenfeld, her top finish was also the result of discipline and dedication. The Employment Skills LDE is similar to a job interview, where the student submits materials such as a resume and cover letter, goes through a series of interviews between in-person and over the phone, and then writes a follow-up letter.

“Overall, I was very happy to win this award. I worked hard preparing for this event — Revising my application, cover letter and resume, practicing questions and mock interviews,” Schoenfeld said. “Many of the other Employment Skills participants are my friends and they are incredible people and very competitive. I knew I needed to be at my best to come out on top.”

Schoenfeld, who’s been in FFA since she was in eighth grade, said she took immediate action to start preparing for state once she knew she qualified.

“After I knew I made it to state, my advisor and I immediately sent out emails asking individuals throughout the state and country to participate in mock interviews with me,” Schoenfeld said. “These consisted of both over the phone, virtual, and in-person interviews. I am very appreciative of all of those who helped me to prepare for this specific contest.”

Notably, both Schoenfeld and VanDyke made impressive jumps in their performance from a year prior.

Schoenfeld mentioned she competed in last year’s Employment Skills LDE and placed sixth, also at the Winter Leadership Summit, while VanDyke said he missed the mark of making the finals round in Creed Speaking last year.

“I set a goal to hone my skills and understanding of interviewing techniques to hopefully move up in placings for 2025, and I’m thrilled to have met that goal,” Schoenfeld said.

Marshall FFA advisor, Sarah Lee, also expressed her excitement for Yasin’s accomplishment and said he also got to attend leadership workshops during the day in between competition for being a first-year member.

“It’s (FFA) been good … I like that you can make a lot of friends in FFA,” Yasin said of his first year so far. “Most of them were not shy. They hype up the room, and they teach you a lot of stuff in fun ways.”

The FFA LDE’s were originally created and designed to bring classroom instruction to life, and to have students demonstrate their skills in a competitive setting.

“State LDE competitions are a main focus, but Minnesota FFA also offered workshops assisting students with organizing and preparing for State Degree and Proficiencies, and several conferences for different level members to attend,” Boersma said. “RTR members utilized those opportunities in between their competitions in order to really get the most out of their experience.”

Both the Marshall and RTR FFA chapters expect to have a busy upcoming Spring with preparations beginning for the state convention in April, along with a handful of other events.