Spanish Creed Speaking Added as Leadership Development Event
Thursday, July 14, 2022 | Author: Braelyn Pointer, Sudan FFA and Kynlee Bright, White Oak FFA
After hosting its largest Spanish Creed Speaking invitational in association history at the 2021 state convention, the Texas FFA voted to promote the contest to a state Leadership Development Event (LDE) for the upcoming school year.
More than 80 FFA members competed in the last invitational before the trasnsion on Monday, July 11 with 10 members advancing to the finals Tuesday.
The FFA creed, written in 1929 by E. M. Tiffany, is a five paragraph speech that outlines the organization's values and beliefs. As Texas FFA continued to diversify, Spanish Creed Speaking was introduced in 2009 as an invitational.
According to Texas FFA statistics, 29% of Texans speak Spanish as their first language. This event has opened up language barriers between members.
“I became interested in the Spanish Creed thanks to my sister because she was actually one of the first participants in the contest,” Paulette Aguilar, Advisors and Spanish Creed Contenst Superintendent said. “It made me realize that they were trying to do something to open up and make visible that there’s a lot of diversity in the FFA organization.”
By having this event available within the state, it creates a more inclusive space for members to understand the FFA through their first language.
“The Spanish Creed changed the way that I view FFA because now I better understand the morals, where we come from and our way of living,” Michelle DeMoss, Canutillo FFA member said.
Texas FFA membership continues to rise, and so does the diversity throughout the organization. According to Canutillo’s agricultural science teacher Laycee Lowry, she believes that is easier for Spanish speaking students to grasp and memorize the Spanish Creed opposed to the English version.
As Spanish Creed transitions to an official LDE this fall, the Texas FFA Association aspires that the contest will continue to grow and provide more members will development opportunities.
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Reporter: Braelyn Pointer, Sudan FFA and Kynlee Bright, White Oak FFA
Photographer: Kaytly Clift, Stratford FFA
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