Jenny Lopez makes Yoakum FFA history

  • (From left) Adriana Bridges, Jenny Lopez, Laura Johnson and Yoakum ISD School Board President Glen Kusak pose during the Dec. 12 YISD board meeting. Photo by Hans Lammeman.
    (From left) Adriana Bridges, Jenny Lopez, Laura Johnson and Yoakum ISD School Board President Glen Kusak pose during the Dec. 12 YISD board meeting. Photo by Hans Lammeman.

    Yoakum FFA member, Jennifer “Jenny”  Lopez, began her journey to make program history last month. Lopez and 40 fellow Yoakum FFA members, competed in the Horizon District Leadership Development Events (LDEs) Contest in Cuero on Nov. 2. 

     

    LDEs focus on creating situations for members to demonstrate their abilities in public speaking, decision-making, communication, and knowledge of agriculture and the FFA organization. 

     

    Yoakum FFA entered 14 teams in the competition, including Agriculture Advocacy, Junior and Senior Chapter Conducting, Job Interview, Radio Broadcasting, Junior and Senior Spanish Creed, Junior and Senior FFA Quiz, Junior and Senior Agriculture Skills, Junior and Senior Creed Speaking and Public Relations. 

     

    The Junior Spanish Creed Speaker (Jenny Lopez), Junior Creed Speaker (Colby Jendrzey) and the Junior Chapter Conducting (Jackson Thompson, Hanna Garvin, Jordyn Driskell, MacKenzie Muse, Kilynn Poole, McKenna New and Lucy Walters) teams placed high enough in their events to advance to the Area XI LDE competition at Blinn College in Brenham, Nov. 19. 

     

    As the team members anxiously waited for the results for their events in the student center at Blinn College, Lopez had tears in her eyes. She received her scoresheets and talked about her critiques with her coach Adriana Bridges. 

     

    Lopez was certain that her minimal mistakes would cost her the ticket to State. Then, the room fell silent as the Area XI officer team, which includes Yoakum FFA member Raelee Schlegel, took the stage to announce the results. 

     

    As the names were read off, Jenny's hopes grew weak with each announcement, until "Second place and advancing to State, Yoakum". 

     

    The small room filled with cheers as Jenny was embraced by her friends and her English-speaking counterpart. She showed the same support as the heartbreaking results of a third-place finish for Colby Jendrzey was announced, missing qualification by one placing. 

     

    Jenny made history as the 1st Yoakum FFA Member to advance to qualify for State LDE’s in Greenhand Spanish Creed. Jenny competed on Dec. 2nd in Huntsville at Sam Houston State University as the first Junior Spanish Creed Speaker in Yoakum history.