By Emmy Powell
Communications Specialist
Students in the graduating class of 2025 and 2024 participated in Texas Farm Bureau’s (TFB) district Engage events.
Engage is an in-person event that was hosted in each of the 13 TFB districts as part of TFB’s Student Success Series. Participants learned about youth opportunities provided by TFB, personal branding, insights into the free enterprise system, communication, building a legacy and entrepreneurship.
The program leaves a lasting impact on the students who participated. It provided opportunities for them to connect with peers and community leaders, learn key concepts and connect with TFB on both local and state levels.
“The impact of Engage on 10th and 11th graders is threefold,” McKenna Bush, TFB youth outreach coordinator, said. “First, Engage provides students an opportunity to connect and network with peers in and surrounding their community. Second, students learn about key concepts such as the Free Enterprise System, building a legacy, personal branding and entrepreneurship. Third, Engage provides students with an additional opportunity to connect with their local and state Farm Bureaus, helping them understand early on the benefits of being involved in Texas Farm Bureau and what our organization does on behalf of our membership.”
A total of 223 students across the state participated in Engage this summer.
“Engage is a unique way to continue to build upon skills students are establishing through 4-H, FFA and FCCLA programming,” Bush said. “For students who are not already involved in these programs, it is a way to establish, and through further involvement in Student Success Series, hone skills essential to being a productive member of society. It is also another way to connect with peers from across the state who share a common interest in agriculture.”
Students who participate in the Engage event are eligible to compete in TFB’s Free Enterprise Speech Contest, which is a district-level contest where students prepare and deliver a speech via video recording. Prizes for the top three competitors in each district include: first place, $250 cash prize; second place, $150 cash prize; and third place, $75 cash prize.
Additional programs will be held this summer and fall for the remaining Student Success Series programs: Jumpstart, Activate and Thrive.
For more information about youth programs and activities, visit texasfarmbureau.org/youth-opportunities.