WHS Freshman Wins State FFA Creed Speaking Competition

WAITSBURG – Waitsburg High School freshman Loren Negron has every right to be proud of herself for winning first place in the creed speaking competition at the 86th Washington State FFA Convention over the weekend of May 12-14.

But for the Philippine native, the experience became much more than just meeting a goal. It taught her to believe in herself, to be an inspiration to others, and showed her much it means to have the strong support of friends and family.

Negron moved to the United States last year, after being raised and homeschooled by her parents in the Philippines. Her parents served as missionaries there and founded the Jesus Garden Ministry, which is still in operation. Negron's father, an American, also taught English to Koreans.

Negron said safety was a large factor in her father's decision to relocate the family to the U.S.

"When I got here I was amazed at how blessed Americans are to live in this kind of government as compared to the Philippines where there are bombs and terrorists. There is no safety that you can enjoy there and sometimes people would live in fear," she said.

Negron said her family first moved to Dixie and she chose to attend Waitsburg High School because it was smaller and seemed more friendly that Wa-Hi. The family has since moved to Walla Walla, but Negron intends to continue her education in Waitsburg.

Negron said she joined FFA last January at the suggestion of FFA Advisor Nicole Abel, who was impressed with a Filipino farm diorama and presentation Negron gave as an ag science project. Abel convinced Negron to take part in the job interview contest, which required that she become an FFA member.

"Once I was in, I just loved it. I love how FFA gives opportunities to young adults like me who are willing to work hard for their future," Negron said.

And hard work is one thing Negron doesn't shy away from. Negron made it as far as the semi-finals in the job interview competition and then decided to tackle the creed speaking competition. Competitors must recite the five paragraph FFA Creed in four minutes, and answer three questions related to the creed.

Abel said every freshman is enrolled in agriculture science and is required to learn and recite the FFA Creed with the purpose of helping them become comfortable speaking in front of groups and in a professional setting.

Negron speaks three languages: the Filipino dialects of Tagalog and Visayan, as well as English. While she grew up speaking English, she said she still had to work hard to get her accent, pronunciation, and enunciation to the point where it pleased the judges.

She placed first at finals, but only placed second at the district competition where she got docked for enunciation. But she was still eligible for the state contest. Negron said she practiced intensely, watching YouTube videos and working with teachers and fellow FFA members.

While she struggled with pronunciation and enunciation, Negron feels her unique background gave her an edge in the question portion of the contest.

"I had only been here for a year and didn't know much about ag in America so I thought kids here would have a bigger advantage. But throughout my journey I learned, as Mrs. Abel had said, that my answers really separated me from the other contestants.

"I've seen things they haven't seen; the discouraging things in life that they don't see here like seeing kids living under bridges and working with them to give them a better life. I know what it's like to work on a farm, especially when you're poor. My family on my mom's side were ag workers on pineapple plantations so I knew how discouraging and how hard it was. And at the same time I know why agriculture is so important and how it changes people's lives.

"Technology here can't be compared to the Philippines. You use tractors. Most of the farms in the Philippines use caribous – the animals – and it's all by hand. We're lacking the technology that you have," Negron said.

Negron said that as she continually recited the words "I believe," that appear throughout the creed, they began to affect her.

"I have been through some things that had caused me to become insecure and lose faith in myself. The first time I read the creed, I thought there were so many 'I believes.' It just kept hitting me like a spotlight. I decided that I was just going to believe in myself," she said.

Negron also credits her success to the support of Abel, her classmates, family, and FFA family.

"At state, everyone kept telling me I could do it. One of the people that really touched my heart the night before the competition was (FFA President) Tristan Newman. He told me to do my best and if I wasn't going to place first, I was going to be the first in their hearts anyway. With that kind of support and faith in yourself, you can go anywhere," she said.

"Loren did a spectacular job! It is an honor to be her advisor. Her parents made my job easy as they have raised a kid that knows what hard work is and how much you have to put in to succeed in our district," said Abel.

Negron said she was amazed when she was named as the state winner, out of 32 competitors, and overwhelmed at the prospect of reciting the creed before more than 3,000 state attendees.

"I was really trying to stop myself from crying. All I was thinking was that this is my chance to inspire people. If they get to know my story they will believe in themselves and say 'if this girl has just been here for a year and she's not from our country and she went to state, then I can do something, too.' I want to inspire young people to take a chance, take a leap of faith, and just do what they want to do. To just believe in themselves," she said.

Negron plans to keep on believing in herself all the way to the national level competition in Indianapolis, Ind. in October. Not only that, but she plans to perfect her job interview presentation and hopes to place first in it at next year's state convention.