My name is Darien Cooke, I am from Palmer Alaska and I am the State President for Alaska FFA. You know, I have always hated speaking in front of groups. Small or large it always made me so nervous that my chest would constrict and my face would get beet red. The problem is, I LOVE to talk in front of people. I find that most problems that we have can be fixed if we talk about it. I find the best way to make people happy, relaxed, excited, is to talk. Now, I don't know why I have a fear of public speaking even though I love to speak in front of people. I love the feeling that you get when you know people are actually listening to what you have to say and not shrugging it off. Ok, this far into this paragraph you are probably thinking, " OK Darien, WE GET IT, cut to the chase" Well. The chase is. FFA has helped me tackle my fear of public speaking, it hasn't completely gotten rid of it, but FFA has helped a ton to make me feel a little more relaxed doing it. The beauty of why I am sharing this is, this can happen to you with FFA. If you have a fear, I can guarantee that the FFA members will help you through it, just like me and my speaking. I love FFA for this, they have given me a gift I didn't know I had.So please, if you read this you are probably laughing a little, but you are also probably a little curious. Am I right? Or am I right? The world is ready for our generation to help it rise up and regain stability. It is waiting for us.This. Is. Gonna be fun. You ready? Lets rock.
P.S
By the way, or I guess BTW, You, yes, you who is reading this, you are awesome. Remember that. On a different note, how would you say BTW, Be Te Dubb? Oh, I guess like that.
Alright Data, beam me up
Darien
Saturday, September 17, 2011
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Your 2011-2012 Alaska FFA State Vice President is....
Rayna Nelson! I still remember that moment our state advisor said my name at the awards banquet at the 35th annual Alaska FFA State Convention in Kodiak, Alaska. It was the moment I had been waiting for since my freshamn year in FFA. It was like a dream come true.
So, who am I? I am a senior at a small career technical school in Fairbanks, Alaska where I am the Student Body President. I have been in FFA for almost 5 yearsand it has shaped me to be the person I am, but I'm sure the rest of our team could say that too. I play viola for the Fairbanks Youth Symphony, this will be my sixth year. I switched from the violin to viola Christmas of my freshman year and taught myself the new music notes. In all, I have played violin/viola for about 10 years. I love sports like volleyball and soccer and I love to run. As a student said today, "Some call it stretching myself thin, I call it being involved."
So far this year as a state officer I have traveled to places as far as Washington D.C. to represent Alaska with our President Darien Cooke along with 98 other state officers from across the US. We talked with Senator Lisa Murkowski as well as Senator Mark Begich and Congressman Don Young. we gaave input to the United States Farm Bill and had the opportunity to talk with the Secretary of the US Department of Agriculture Tom Vilsack. The metro system in D.C. was another story in itself! We figured the metro out by the time we got to the airport to leave for home, but it was an exciting experience.
As a team, we have had BLAST Off and a new training we called State Officer Training Camp 2011. Both leadership development trainings have taught us many valuable skills and I am super excited for the coming year. Before I became a state officer this year, I had dreams of doing these great chapter visits and making kids feel like FFA was the thing to do. And of course it is!
So far this year, I've learned that a person can only do so much before it's too much. I've learned to meet deadlines even better than before. I've learned that working in a team isn't always perfect, but we just have to get through the struggles and celebrate the accomplishments. People come from all different life styles and it takes patience, understanding, and thoughfulness to work with all different types of people.
I'm excited to see what the year has in store and to meet some amazing people!
So, who am I? I am a senior at a small career technical school in Fairbanks, Alaska where I am the Student Body President. I have been in FFA for almost 5 yearsand it has shaped me to be the person I am, but I'm sure the rest of our team could say that too. I play viola for the Fairbanks Youth Symphony, this will be my sixth year. I switched from the violin to viola Christmas of my freshman year and taught myself the new music notes. In all, I have played violin/viola for about 10 years. I love sports like volleyball and soccer and I love to run. As a student said today, "Some call it stretching myself thin, I call it being involved."
So far this year as a state officer I have traveled to places as far as Washington D.C. to represent Alaska with our President Darien Cooke along with 98 other state officers from across the US. We talked with Senator Lisa Murkowski as well as Senator Mark Begich and Congressman Don Young. we gaave input to the United States Farm Bill and had the opportunity to talk with the Secretary of the US Department of Agriculture Tom Vilsack. The metro system in D.C. was another story in itself! We figured the metro out by the time we got to the airport to leave for home, but it was an exciting experience.
As a team, we have had BLAST Off and a new training we called State Officer Training Camp 2011. Both leadership development trainings have taught us many valuable skills and I am super excited for the coming year. Before I became a state officer this year, I had dreams of doing these great chapter visits and making kids feel like FFA was the thing to do. And of course it is!
So far this year, I've learned that a person can only do so much before it's too much. I've learned to meet deadlines even better than before. I've learned that working in a team isn't always perfect, but we just have to get through the struggles and celebrate the accomplishments. People come from all different life styles and it takes patience, understanding, and thoughfulness to work with all different types of people.
I'm excited to see what the year has in store and to meet some amazing people!
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