Teachers do so much behind the scenes and they don’t get the recognition they truly deserve. Teachers really do make the biggest impact as they are essentially leading new generations and guiding them into the world. For Teacher Appreciation Week students would love to recognize Emerson’s Agriculture teacher, Courtney Leftrick.

Emerson High School is so fortunate to have an agriculture teacher like Leftrick. She is such a patient and caring person, she always does her best to make sure her students succeed and she provides many different ways of learning to meet every student’s needs.

Leftrick leads Emerson’s Future Farmers of America, FFA, organization and has always had a passion for this organization growing up. 

“Their mission is to prepare future generations for the challenges of feeding a growing population. They taught us that agriculture is more than planting and harvesting. It’s a science, it’s a business and it’s an art,” Leftrick said.

Leftrick had her own unique FFA experiences, which empowered her to continue participating into adulthood.

“I was in FFA as a kid and I was pretty much the only minority, which inspired me further to take the classes and be in the program,” Leftrick said. “Not only to just be a part of it, but to better it.” 

When Leftrick came to Emerson there was no FFA club. She had to recruit kids and was able to start with 14. By this school year, she was able to compete with a total of 47 students.

“We’ve also had a whole team win state for the first time, and I’m very proud to say that one of our officers is now a district officer,” Leftrick said. “And so I think we have been very successful in just one school year and I get to brag about that.” 

Teachers have the biggest role in this society and that is to guide generation after generation into the real world and prepare them for what’s ahead.

“I do believe we make the biggest impact on society when it comes to industries because we take kids from age five when they are still in their formative years, and we keep them until it’s time to kick them out into the real world. We are making a big impact on them, and hopefully a positive one. Along the way we’re helping them figure out where their place in society is so I feel like we make the biggest impact out of anyone,” Leftrick said.

While important, being a teacher and leading a whole generation isn’t always an easy job. 

“I would tell them to go for it and be patient with themselves. This job is always changing because education is constantly changing so you have to be patient with yourself throughout the growth process,” Leftrick said. This job isn’t the easiest profession, but in the end seeing those kids walk across that stage – you can just pat yourself on the back. It’s rewarding but it’s tough so you have to be an adaptable person and a very strong minded person to do this job.”