FFA Corner: Be aware of how to add value to those around us

Have you felt like the pandemic has taken more than a thing or two from you? One of the most acute impacts is likely found just by looking at your calendar.

If there’s an event, nine out of 10 times it’s got a virtual meeting link attached to it. Somehow, it’s less exciting to click on another link than to grab an Uber from the airport and walk into a bustling hotel lobby full of new faces.

When I ran for National FFA office, I knew that I was volunteering for a year of uncertainty — well, except for one thing: I was certain to spend plenty of time on Zoom.

But there’s always a gap between expectations and experience. Just because you know there’s a blizzard doesn’t mean it will be less miserable when you step outside into it.

So, while I knew I would be experiencing National FFA Week from a computer screen instead of in classrooms, there were still moments that I felt the nagging voice of discontentment reminding me of where I’d be if this was a “normal” year.

There was one night, however, that my paradigm flipped. I say that as though it was the first time. It wasn’t. It was a mindset shift that I’ve needed almost daily since the pandemic first hit.

But the time I spent with the chapter officers from Bennett, Colorado, was like a ray of sunshine breaking through the sky after a week of cloudy days — it’s not that you doubt the sun is there, but sometimes you need to see it to remember.

I joined the Zoom call and found myself dropped into the ag teacher’s kitchen. A couple officers are leaning toward the screen, checking the audio.

I wave and say hello and immediately their faces light up with a greeting. Kolt and Jackson call over their fellow officers and I’m soon surrounded by six more bright, smiling faces. They introduce themselves and scatter to start their evening activity: making fajitas.

But they haven’t forgotten about their remote visitor. In pairs, they take turns chatting with me, carrying the laptop around the kitchen to visit with those busy chopping peppers, grilling chicken and warming tortillas.

As I learn about their service projects, how Trista and Tyler are advancing to state public speaking and that Sara is nearly a professional cake decorator, I can almost smell the spices in the air and feel the energy that only a group of FFA members can bring to a room.

It wasn’t until I was retelling this story later in the week that it hit me — during my visit, I literally felt like I was in that kitchen in Colorado, laughing and telling stories together.

There’s a few reasons why, but I’m sure that one of them is this: those new friends didn’t treat our time together like just another Zoom call. They were intentional about engaging, asking questions, sharing their inside jokes. They didn’t discount the visit because it was through a screen, but instead added value to it by making the visit feel purposeful.

It’s two hours before I log off and we’ve already made plans for me to visit the next time I’m road tripping through Colorado. But, until then, I’ll never forget how they made that virtual visit feel every bit as important as any in person interaction.

What if we all had the same attitude as my friends from Bennett FFA? It’s my hope that, instead of wishing away the hours we spend on Zoom, we would be always aware of how to add value to those around us — even, or especially, if they’re around us in those little boxes on a screen.

Miriam Hoffman of Earlville, Illinois, is the National FFA eastern region vice president. She is an agribusiness economics major at Southern Illinois University.