Photos By Matt Weir / The Collegian
A Fresno State freshman will travel more than 100,000 miles to Japan and 40 different states in presidency role
Freshman Levy Randolph, 19, has become the second Fresno State student in three years to be elected as the national Future Farmers of America president (FFA).
Randolph was elected as the 2009-2010 president on Oct. 24, 2009 after months of preparation.
“It took me four months of preparation to run for president which included keynote speeches, student workshops, and studying about FFA and current agriculture,” Randolph said. “After the preparation there is a test, two essays and a week of interviews with the nominations committee who elect you into your specific positions.”
Randolph, an ag business major, fulfills the duties of president which are workshops and keynote speaking. He also has meetings with leaders in education, government officials, ag industry leaders, and corporate sponsors. “We are on the road 300 days a year and the other 65 days we have ‘off’ are not always at home because some are rest days when we are not traveling or have work,” Randolph said. The constant travel and work for the position led Randolph to take this year off of school.
Over the course of his presidency Randolph will travel 100,000 miles.
Randolph said that as a team they go to 40 states in one year and they have a two-week international trip. This year they are traveling to Japan for their international trip.
“In Japan we are spending four days in Tokyo, visiting Toyota, spend four days in rural Japan, visit the U.S. embassy, and meet with Japanese agricultural leaders,” Randolph said.
Randolph will also lead his team in meeting with the Future Farmers of Japan. The program is to help students come together and have better relations.
Though Randolph, a Hemet native, is the current president of the FFA he just stumbled into an ag class in high school.
“I grew up in a military family and was really interested in playing sports,” Randolph said. “As a freshman, a friend convinced me to sign up for the ag class so we could just relax and hang out.”
Randolph’s teacher offered the class a chance to get an ‘A’ in the course.
“We had to present the FFA creed to the class for the ‘A,’ I thought why not I could please my football coach and relax the rest of the semester,” Randolph said. “My teacher liked my presentation so much they drug me to the FFA competition and I ended up being the runner up at the state level.”
From then on Randolph became more active in FFA raising animals for show, prepared public speaking, and managed his school’s garden. When it was time to pick a college he narrowed it down to Chico State, Cal Poly, and Fresno State.
“I picked Fresno State because the faculty was the best there and it fit my major,” Randolph said. “The faculty is very accommodating and they actually give you the time of day.”
Dr. Charles Boyer, Dean of the Jordan College of Agricultural Sciences and Technology, believes that Fresno State is lucky to get a student like Randolph.
“He is a mature, bright, young man. He is going to be very successful,” Boyer said. “Levy being elected shows how good our students are at Fresno State and I am excited to have this high caliber student at the university, who will enrich the environment for not only the students but the faculty.”
Randolph plans to work toward owning his own youth leadership and curriculum development company after Fresno State.
“My advice is to be passionate about what you do, to keep an open mind, and take an ag class,” Randolph said.