June 3 –The College of Agriculture and Human Sciences recently welcomed Future Farmers of America (FFA) students of Texas Area III for their annual Convention and Degree Check.
On May 16th and 17th, more than 500 high school students roamed the Prairie View A&M University campus to participate in the 2019 Texas FFA Area III 
event. The students closed out their season and prepared for the upcoming State convention in July 2019 through presentations, competitions, workshops, officer elections, and degree checks. Degree checks are essentially the stages of completion for FFA students on their path to being a fully-recognized member in the organization. The four degrees earned in each level of high school or each year the student participates in the 
organization are Greenhand, followed by Chapter, then the Lone Star or State degree and finally students achieve the American or National degree.
Over the two days of activities, students from nearly 100 high schools in Brazoria, Fort Bend, Galveston and Harris counties participated in awesome learning experiences covering areas such as agriculture policy, agribusiness, agriscience, animal science, plant science, and natural resources. Outgoing Area III officers bid their farewells to the team they’d served for the past year in time for the new officer elections. CAHS Dean and Director of Land Grant Programs, Gerard D’Souza, shared a few words of encouragement for the students on the day of their degree checks in hopes of drawing excitement for the next steps their lives and choosing PVAMU to carry on their experiences in agriculture. Awards were also presented to the participating chapters and outstanding members.
This hosting effort was led by Associate Professor Dr. Wash Jones and USDA Liaison Mr. Horace Hodge, who both helped coordinate and facilitated activities for the entire event. Jones and Hodge are currently preparing to host the 2019 Career Development Event for FFA here at PVAMU in the fall.
This work is supported by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture, 1890 Extension Formula projects under Section 1444.
Taelor Smith
Communications Specialist
tasmith@pvamu.edu
(936) 261-5155