UW-River Falls student named one of six National FFA officers

 

Platform provides opportunity to extol the value of agriculture to a large audience

 

Oct. 29, 2024 – Mary Schrieber, a junior at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls, has been elected to one of six National FFA Organization officer team positions, a prestigious distinction she called “the honor of a lifetime.”

Schrieber joined her FFA colleagues from Illinois, Ohio, Kentucky, California, and Georgia who were elected by National FFA delegates to serve as 2024-25 National FFA officers. The group, who will lead the organization for the next year, was selected from among 37 applicants on Saturday during the final session of the 97th National FFA Convention & Expo in Indianapolis.  

“I am really, really honored and humbled,” Schrieber, 20, said of her selection as a National FFA officer. “When it was announced that I had been selected, it was pretty much just pure shock and joy.”

Schrieber’s selection as a National FFA leader is especially notable given that she didn’t grow up on a farm or with an agricultural background. She spent her childhood in the suburban community of East Troy in southeast Wisconsin and got her start in agriculture in eighth grade, when she was urged to join her school’s FFA chapter and she participated in Middle School Quiz Bowl, a competition that tests participants’ knowledge of ag-related topics.

“Before that, I couldn’t tell you what FFA even was,” Schrieber recalled. “Then I took part in that competition, and I loved it. After that, I was hooked. I wanted to be part of FFA.”

In ensuing years Schrieber became increasingly involved in FFA, learning as much about various aspects of agriculture as she could. She got involved at the state level as well, serving as the Wisconsin FFA state sentinel in 2022-23 and as the organization’s president in 2023-24. 

Schrieber attended UW-Madison her freshman year, then transferred to UWRF because she said the school offers her better opportunities in her major, agricultural education, and to study agriculture policy development. She praised the quality of agriculture education at UWRF and said she is thankful for the support of faculty and her fellow students as she pursues FFA opportunities.

“I have a lot of really great opportunities at UW-River Falls,” she said. “This place has been a really good fit for me.”

During her year as a National FFA officer, Schrieber will travel across the country, interacting with business and industry leaders, thousands of FFA members and teachers, corporate partners, government and education officials, state FFA leaders, and others. She will help lead personal growth and leadership training conferences for FFA members and help set policies to guide the future of FFA and the next generation of leaders.

“I am so excited to continue to educate and talk about the importance of agriculture, and now I have a bigger platform to do that,” Schrieber said. “I will be doing that with the next generation of agriculture that will take on the challenges that our industry faces.”

UWRF junior Amy Jentges, an ag education major from Port Washington, served as a Wisconsin FFA officer with Schrieber last year. She watched Schrieber develop her leadership skills as president of the state FFA, work that prepared her for being a National FFA officer.

Schrieber exudes an inclusive leadership style, Jentges said, that “includes cultivating a sense of belonging and friendship wherever she goes.”

Schrieber said she is driven to connect with others about the importance of agriculture and food because of her own experience and her lack of a traditional agriculture background. Many Americans don’t understand where their food comes from, she said, and don’t understand the challenges that agriculture faces. She wants to change that. 

“For a time, I perceived my lack of experience in agriculture as something to hide,” she said. “But the people in this industry made me realize that FFA was somewhere where I really belong. That’s why I decided to run for national office, to inspire other people that they can belong in ag too.”