Kerri Richardson, Agri-Business Academy Instructor, left, congratulates Melissa Keller, right, Agri-Business Academy student, at a recent Board of Education ceremony.
Submitted photo and press release:
Thirteen Batavia Career and Technical Education (CTE) Center students represented the Western Region at the New York State FFA Convention in Leadership Development Events in May at the State University of New York at Morrisville.
Melissa Keller (Pembroke) placed second in the Employment Skills event and will represent New York State at the Big E Fair next fall in Massachusetts. This event is the Eastern States Exposition Fair where students from throughout the Northeastern United States come to compete.
Kerri Richardson is the Agri-Business Academy instructor and FFA co-advisor. She explained how well Melissa fared in this event.
“This is one of the most competitive competitions at the convention. Melissa had to prepare a resume, cover letter and job application along with a phone and in-person interview,” Richardson said.
Melissa earned a $1,500 national FFA scholarship called the America’s Farms Grow Ag Leaders/Monsanto Fund.
The team of Melissa Keller, Cole Hudson (Notre Dame) and Cherie Glosser (Warsaw), placed third in the Marketing Plan event. Four students, Rebecca Semmel (Warsaw), Stella Glosser (Warsaw), Sarah Lippert (Attica), and Elizabeth Jurs (Elba), competed as the Food Science team and placed ninth out of 27 teams.
Allison Pajda (Attica) placed sixth in the People in Agriculture event.
The Batavia CTE Center FFA program focuses on leadership, personal growth and career success. The co-advisors are Richardson and Holly Partridge, Animal Science instructor.
If you know of a current junior or underclassman who is interested in business or agriculture, or is unsure of a career path, applications are now being accepted for the Agri-Business Academy at the Genesee Valley Educational Partnership. The Agri-Business Academy is a one-year partnership program between the Partnership and Genesee Community College. This college prep program is geared toward highly motivated high school seniors interested in investigating careers in the agribusiness field.
Through the Agri-Business Academy, students explore the many career opportunities available to them — locally, internationally or often it is a dynamic blend of both. Students can also earn 15 college credits through the ACE program at Genesee Community College.
Applications are available at http://www.genesee.edu/home/ace/career-pathways/agri-business-academy/. Any questions can be directed to Richardson at (585) 344-7783 or kirchardson3@gvboces.org.
The Batavia Career and Technical Education Center is a program of the Genesee Valley Educational Partnership. The Partnership operates as a Board of Cooperative Educational Services offering shared programs and services to 22 component school districts located in Genesee, Wyoming, Livingston and Steuben counties in New York State.
