Kayden Ray

Supervised Agricultural Experience: 

My SAE is currently housed at my local high school. Over my past four years in high school, I have installed and operated four, 250-gallon aquaponic systems that will be used for classroom study when I graduate. I have grown mainly romaine lettuce in these systems which was donated back to the school to be enjoyed by students in homemade salads. I have also experimented with growing herbs like rosemary, thyme, and oregano. Each system has about 45 tilapia used to fertilize these plants and each growing bed has a planting capacity of up to 20 plants. These tilapia are cooked annually and enjoyed by other ag students at an “end of the year” barbecue in my high school’s ag. shop. My SAE requires me to be versatile in checking and stabilizing water quality, recording data, and creating feed ratios that determine how much fish feed should be allowed in each tank each day. This knowledge will benefit me in my future career as I plan to become a high school ag. teacher in the future.

Career Development/Leadership/Talent Events:

My SAE is currently housed at my local high school. Over my past four years in high school, I have installed and operated four, 250-gallon aquaponic systems that will be used for classroom study when I graduate. I have grown mainly romaine lettuce in these systems which was donated back to the school to be enjoyed by students in homemade salads. I have also experimented with growing herbs like rosemary, thyme, and oregano. Each system has about 45 tilapia used to fertilize these plants and each growing bed has a planting capacity of up to 20 plants. These tilapia are cooked annually and enjoyed by other ag students at an “end of the year” barbecue in my high school’s ag. shop. My SAE requires me to be versatile in checking and stabilizing water quality, recording data, and creating feed ratios that determine how much fish feed should be allowed in each tank each day. This knowledge will benefit me in my future career as I plan to become a high school ag. teacher in the future.

Major FFA Accomplishments:

One of my biggest FFA accomplishments would be having the privilege of representing Alabama at the national Ag. Mechanics contest, in which my team and I placed bronze. Another big accomplishment is being awarded top 4 in the state in two proficiency application areas and state champion in the area of Diversified Agricultural Production. Of course, my largest FFA accomplishment so far would be being selected to serve Alabama FFA this year as State President.

Favorite Book:

My favorite book is “Percy Jackson: The Lightning Thief” by Rick Riordan.

Favorite Movie:

My favorite movie has to be “The Greatest Showman”. This movie teaches many lessons like how it is important to embrace the unusual, or that the relationships you build should come above everything else. Not only are the lessons extremely inspiring, but the music in the movie is also very fun and catchy.

Favorite Meal: 

My favorite meal is steak street tacos with cilantro and onions, with lime and salsa verde on the side.

Favorite Quote: 

“Iron sharpens iron as one man sharpens another.” Proverbs 27:17

Favorite Song: 

My favorite song is “Tishomingo” by Zach Bryan.

Favorite thing about FFA:

My favorite thing about the FFA is all the opportunities it provides for those who choose to be involved. From traveling the country to meeting many, many people, FFA does it all. Not only does it provide opportunities in the field of agriculture, but it also provides students with the opportunity to develop their leadership and communication skills. There are many different contests to compete in, leadership positions to hold, and many different fields to study. If it weren’t for the FFA and the opportunities it has provided to me, I would not be who I am today.

Favorite FFA Memory:

My favorite FFA memory has to be the flight to my first National FFA Convention in Indianapolis, Indiana. It was my sophomore year of high school, and I was given the opportunity to go with my chapter since I was a chapter officer that year. As a chapter, we traveled to the Atlanta International Airport the day before the convention started. Our flight to Indianapolis was originally scheduled to take off at 10:35 so we planned our arrival time at the airport to be two hours before the plane took off. Once we got through security, we headed to our terminal and the time was 9:55 and once we arrived, we looked at the display and it showed “Flight to Memphis: 10:40” instead of “Flight to Indianapolis: 10:35”. This really confused us because our flight wasn’t supposed to take off until 10:35 but when we asked about it, the airport staff said that it had already taken off. What we discovered was that our flight time changed in the middle of the night and the airport did not notify anyone so they gave us free tickets on their next flight to Indianapolis but there was a catch, there would be a layover in New York City. This was really exciting because on the way into New York, I got to see the Empire State Building and Statue of Liberty from the airplane window and ended up spending about 8 hours in the Big Apple. It really showed me that even when I am out of my comfort zone, I can have a good time as long as I go with the flow.

College Plans:

When I graduate high school, I plan on going to college at Auburn University and majoring in Agriculture Education. I want to be an ag. teacher because I want to have the impact on future generations that my advisor has had on me. This gives me a way to make an impact in the lives of others while following my passion for agriculture.