By Emmy Powell
Communications Specialist

Over 2,500 students become more familiar with Texas Farm Bureau (TFB), agriculture and leadership through the organization’s Jumpstart and Activate programs.

“Jumpstart and Activate are the first half of the Student Success Series programs Texas Farm Bureau offers,” McKenna Bush, TFB Youth Outreach coordinator, said. “The programs give eighth and ninth students the opportunity to learn more about their community, agriculture and to develop critical professional skills.”

Students completed the online learning modules for each program during October.

Jumpstart
Through Jumpstart, over 1,800 eighth-grade students learned more about Texas agriculture, grew leadership skills and became more familiar with TFB.

“Jumpstart helped students develop an understanding of leadership and its importance in our everyday lives, no matter one’s age. They also explored career opportunities within the Agricultural, Food and Natural Resources career cluster, completed guided self-reflection activities, and developed critical professional skills and an understanding of business etiquette,” Bush said.

Activate
This year, more than 730 ninth-grade students participated in Activate.

Students learned more about TFB and were challenged to create a plan for leaving a legacy. They also explored career opportunities and personal brands.

“Students dove into the concept of legacy and how they can begin to create a legacy,” Bush said. “They also became a farmer for a day through a farm simulator game, developed an understanding of the agricultural supply chain and explored methods to develop a positive and impactful personal brand.”

Student Success Series
Jumpstart and Activate are a part of TFB’s Student Success Series, which also includes Engage and Thrive.

“The Student Success Series focuses on concepts such as leadership, legacy, personal branding and careers through the lens of agriculture,” Bush said. “Students have the chance to view these concepts in a different way than other adjacent programs and develop an informed understanding of agriculture and the role it plays in their lives.”

Engage is an in-person event hosted in each of the 13 TFB districts for high school sophomores and juniors. The events were hosted in May.

Thrive is a three-day conference designed to equip high school seniors with leadership and public speaking skills. The conference was held in early August. 

Program details
For more information on the individual programs, visit texasfarmbureau.org/student-success-series.

Contact Bush at mbush@txfb.org or call 254-399-5037 with questions.