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Lebanon High School teacher, students spotlight ag classes and FFA opportunities
Summary
At a Lebanon High School Ag Department presentation, teacher David Reid described his move to focus on Animal Science and building student connections; student Addie Hand, a five-year FFA member and chapter secretary, described how ag classes and food science competitions shaped her career plans.
David Reid, an agriculture teacher at Lebanon High School, and student Addie Hand described the school’s agricultural education offerings and student opportunities in a presentation from the Lebanon High School Ag Department.
Reid said he moved to Lebanon this fall after graduating from Purdue University in December 2022 and teaching at Mentor Central Junior-Senior High School. “I like to connect with each student, by finding things they like,” Reid said, adding that he enjoys focusing on Animal Science and getting to know students through activities such as showing livestock.
The presentation emphasized hands-on classes and extracurriculars tied to the National FFA Organization. “Agriculture obviously is more than just cows, plows, and sows. If you're eating food, which you should be, you need agriculture,” Reid said. He described teaching a course he identified as “Bridal Science,” along with “a couple sections of Principles,” and said the change to Lebanon allowed him to concentrate on Animal Science.
Addie Hand, who identified herself as a fifth-year FFA member and the chapter secretary, described how FFA and ag classes introduced her to food science and career options. “I now wanna be a dietitian, which could connects a lot to nutrition science and food science,” Hand said, adding that she was drawn into FFA in eighth grade and that competing in food science competitions helped shape her plans.
Hand said she had experience on a family farm and that food science classes at Lebanon prepared her for future competitions. She described a past result in which her team was runner-up in a food science contest and said that taking the class helped her learning about nutrition labels and other practical topics.
Both speakers urged students to consider ag coursework for reasons beyond farming: career preparation, food-system literacy and extracurricular opportunities through FFA. Reid also noted he attends students’ athletic events and aims to build individual connections: “Being able to allow myself to dive into their lives a little bit, allows me to connect with them.”
The presentation closed with a student encouragement: Hand said she hopes peers will enroll in ag classes and join FFA next year. No formal school-board actions, votes or policy changes were announced during the presentation.
