Morgan Watkins, VP

VP 2022-2023

Agricultural Communications – Blooming Into Agriculture

For my SAE project, I own and manage my own website called Blooming Into Agriculture. My website consists of two main parts: the blog component and the featured student section. I write blogs that range anywhere from how-to lessons, to personal experiences, to coverage on huge ag-related events (such as the National FFA Convention). Through the featured student section, I share students’ stories from across the nation, and connect them under a common purpose through an easy to access, virtual platform.

I wanted to become a Missouri FFA State officer to empower members through the FFA organization and provide them the tools they need to help them find their purpose. Getting involved in FFA was really hard for me. I had no clue how I was ever going to find my purpose, and having to develop a connection to such a diverse industry on my own is easily one of the hardest things I’ve had to do. Looking back, I wish I would have had someone there to guide me. I want to be that guide for students of every background trying to find their purpose. I believe that it is one thing to feel like you belong in an organization, but there’s a whole other story to find your purpose. 

My hero is my mom. Growing up, I didn’t always see eye-to-eye with my mom. We oftentimes didn’t get along and chose to handle certain situations in life differently. However, this changed when I failed to make it into the Missouri Agribusiness Academy my sophomore year of high school. I worked so hard and poured my heart out into my interview, but it was still not enough. I was defeated, and was really hard on myself over an outcome that was not in my control. But my mom was there to pick me back up. She showed me that while the outcome may not have been what you wanted it to be, there is still another path. My mom taught me to look at the positives in every situation, and see the opportunities that lie ahead of the road blocks!

I will be attending the University of Missouri-Columbia this fall to major in Agricultural Education with a minor in Leadership and Communications. My hopes are to one day be teaching Agricultural Science in a school somewhere in Missouri, and make a positive difference in students’ lives through the agricultural industry. 

I love to hunt! For as long as I can remember, my dad would take my brother and I up to our family farm to go deer hunting. Over the years, I have been blessed to have harvested a lot of deer by rifle and by bow. Visiting our family up north to hunt was also an excuse for me to check out the farm. It was what first introduced me to agriculture, and was the reason I signed up for an ag class in the first place. When I wasn’t checking out all of the farm equipment, I was sitting in a tree stand waiting for the deer to come my way.