-Submitted photo
Boone High School ag teacher and FFA advisor James Fitzgerald accepts a Toreador award at the school.

BOONE — Life often has a way of leading people to where they belong. Sometimes it’s a place they never could have imagined — and sometimes it’s a place very familiar.

For Boone High School agriculture teacher and FFA Advisor James Fitzgerald, life has come full circle, leading him back to the place that fostered a deep appreciation for the organization once known as the Future Farmers of America and now simply the FFA.

“I had a great FFA experience in high school right here in Boone,” Fitzgerald said.

A 2004 graduate of Boone High School, Fitzgerald earned his bachelor’s degree at Iowa State University, focusing on his chosen career teaching agriculture and mentoring FFA members.

“My FFA advisor in high school, Doug Dodd, was awesome,” Fitzgerald said. “He really knew how to get kids motivated and inspired to try new things. He got me hooked on wanting to be an ag teacher myself and helping students be successful in whatever they try.”

Leadership contests, always a busy time in the FFA year, are one of the things that Fitzgerald credits with fostering his passion for FFA.

“I remember competing in leadership contests, whether it was parliamentary procedure or job interview, those were just great experiences,” he recalled.

Yes, FFA has leadership contests that are based on interviewing for a job, a life skill that virtually everyone will need, whether they choose a career in agriculture, education, aerospace, medicine, or any other field.

That speaks to why the Future Farmers of America simplified its name to FFA. Agriculture is still at the heart, but there is so much more it has to offer, according to Fitzgerald.

After graduating from Iowa State, Fitzgerald spent three years teaching in the Baxter school district before returning to Boone in 2012. The Boone FFA is now about 130 members strong, picking up a few new members with the new semester, and including those members who remain active even after high school.

As an agriculture teacher, Fitzgerald enjoys the variety of subject matter he covers. “I teach everything from welding, to plant science, to ag business,” Fitzgerald noted. “You get to do a little bit of everything.”

While that gives him many preps for the different subjects, it’s the students that make it all worthwhile.

“Students are a lot of fun to work with,” Fitzgerald said. “Sometimes it can be challenging, but it’s really fun. It’s neat to see the different perspectives that students bring, along with their desire to learn and grow in order to become whatever they are going to be someday.”

Fitzgerald’s own background is representative of the ag students he works with every day.

“When I was really young my parents lived on a farm and farmed, but most of my life we lived in town,” he recalled.

Today’s ag classrooms are a reflection of the population shift within the state. There are very few students who come from a full-time farm. Some may be from acreages or small farms augmented by off-farm jobs, but the majority are students who live in town with only remote connections to agriculture.

A lot of the students come for the leadership skills that FFA is known for throughout the nation. Many are seeking to learn about careers in industries related to agriculture, from agronomy to veterinary medicine, and even to banking or journalism.

“I tell all the kids all the time, maybe you want to be a banker. Well guess who half of your customers are going to be — farmers and ag businesses,” he said. “Even lawyers will be doing a lot of farm taxes and related issues.”

Throughout the Midwest, and even in much of the nation, a surprisingly large number of jobs are connected to agriculture. But even if a student pursues a career not remotely associated with agriculture, Fitzgerald firmly believes that FFA has something to offer that student to prepare for the future.

“I really hope our students are gaining some ag knowledge and some leadership skills,” he said. “Even if they don’t go into the ag industry, they will have learned something about teamwork, communication skills, leadership skills. FFA really offers so many life skills that will help them be a success no matter what field they choose in life.”