For tens of thousands of Oklahoma students, the opportunity to join FFA as agricultural education students in junior high through high school is a tradition and a rite of passage. From the legendary blue corduroy jacket to the vast array of programs and activities, the opportunity to grow their agricultural knowledge through leadership, personal growth into career success is a dream come true.
However, for LeAundre Delonia it was a step into uncharted territory.
While the town of Okmulgee is located in rural eastern Oklahoma, Delonia wasn’t brought up as a farm kid with dreams of reaching eighth grade to begin his journey as an FFA member. However, a decision made when enrolling for classes placed him on a path to join Okmulgee FFA and develop a passion for agriculture and leadership while becoming part of a second family through his involvement in the organization.
Delonia was tasked with selecting a school elective course at the start of his eighth-grade year. The options were sports or FFA, and he chose FFA.
He had the opportunity to choose his first supervised agricultural experience his first year of FFA. SAEs allow students to take what they learn in the classroom and apply those skills in real-world projects. While he wanted to start with sheep, Delonia’s agricultural education instructor, Tim Taylor, explained that Okmulgee did not have the facilities to raise and care for sheep. Delonia decided to chose a species that he could raise and care for at his home: rabbits.
By his sophmore year of high school, Delonia expanded his animal care experience and began exhibiting chickens and had convinced Taylor to let him purchase his first set of sheep to exhibit.
“A lot of the friends I had made in FFA showed livestock, and I felt like showing was my connection to them,” Delonia said.
With his hands full in the barn, Delonia still pushed himself to find additional ways to be involved in FFA both in and out of the classroom through agriscience fairs and other youth programs.
Delonia participated in the agriscience fair through out all four years of high school after being inspired as he witnessed a fellow classmate succeed with her project. Those first three years were focused on research with his chickens as he tested different feeds, examined how lighting effects growth and researched the optimal water temperature for processing.
By his senior year, he wanted to shift his focus to conducting agriscience research using wool from his sheep. Delonia’s project aimed to discover if sheep wool would be as effective as either shop towels or oil absorbent. This project earned him two state titles in the oil and gas and natural resources SAE areas, through which he earned the opportunity to represent Oklahoma during the 2025 National FFA Agriscience Fair.
Delonia’s success inside and outside of the classroom did not fill his cup completley. His passion for agriculture pushed him to pursue even more ways to learn about agriculture and build his leadership skills beyond FFA. With Taylor’s involvement with Okmulgee County Farm Bureau and the Oklahoma Farm Bureau Young Farmers and Ranchers program, he encouraged Delonia to participate in several county and youth Farm Bureau activities.
“My first introduction to Farm Bureau – other than when Mr. Taylor talked about it in the classroom – was the Farm Bureau county ag tour,” Delonia said. “We toured the meat processing plant in Okmulgee, and I got to see a lot of things in the county that I did not know were here.”
Taylor also encouraged Delonia to participate in several of OKFB’s state-level youth events.
Delonia participated twice in the OKFB high school discussion meet, placing in the top four each year. He also attended OKFB’s Capitol Camp, a hands-on mock legislative experience for ag youth, where he had the opportunity to write and present his bill, “SEEDS: Support Equity and Economic Development for Smallholders,” during the mock legislature.
“I got to talk about getting surplus material for minority agriculturalists,” Delonia said. “That was really fun to see how both the bill process and the legislative process works.”
Delonia also attended OKFB’s Communications Conference where FFA student had the opportunity to learn about social media, photography and videography, graphic design and writing taught by industry professionals to support their chapters communication skills.
“I never ended up serving as our chapter reporter, but it is really cool to have that knowledge in the back of my head,” Delonia said.
As Delonia attended numerous OKFB youth events and programs, one stood out to him above all the others: OKFB’s Oklahoma Youth Leading Agriculture conference.
“My biggest takeaway from OYLA is that they made sure you were connected,” Delonia said. “It was a moment for everyone to be able to be themselves and realize that they don’t have to change for anyone.”
Being a part of OYLA gave Delonia the opportunity to tour several agriculture and food-industry businesses, visit the Oklahoma State University Food and Agricultural Products Center and the Student Research Center, and develop leadership and communication skills.
As he sought out opportunity after opportunity to be involved in agriculture, Delonia found his place inside Okmulgee FFA and Farm Bureau. His involvement gave him a desire to give back to the organization that had provided him with a place to plug in.
Delonia served as an Okmulgee FFA officer all five years of his FFA experience, including serving as the chapter president from his sophomore year through his senior year.
As he dedicated his time and committed his efforts to FFA, the organization also gave him a place and a second family in his times of struggle. Delonia said that is what inspired him to run for an Oklahoma FFA state office. He wanted to serve as a voice and a leader to inspire fellow FFA members.
“I just want to be a person who can represent them,” Delonia said. “And also to remind them that if things don’t go as planned, as long as you remain patient and keep pushing, the finish line will be greater than you ever imagined.”
Delonia prayed about the opportunity to run for a state office during his senior year of high school, and he felt called to serve as the Oklahoma FFA Northeast Area Vice President. He campaigned throughout the school year and was selected through the nomination committee, a student-led group that is responsible for selecting the state FFA officer finalists, to advance to the final round of candidates at the 2025 Oklahoma FFA Convention and Expo in May.
Delonia prepared to give his presentation to the voting delegates in hopes to secure the officer position.
“The biggest thing I told to the delegates is that I wanted to be the person they can come to if they had a problem,” Delonia said. “I told them to be authentic and be genuine because the organization needs the real you.”
During the last moments of the closing general session of the 2025 Oklahoma FFA Convention and Expo, retiring Oklahoma FFA Northeast Area Vice President, Anna Jo Helling, read Delonia’s name on stage to announce his selection as the 2025-2026 Oklahoma FFA Northeast Area Vice President.
As Delonia embarks upon the next chapter of his life as an Oklahoma FFA state officer, he also begins another: college. Delonia will begin attending Oklahoma State University this fall, majoring in agricultural education, a decision inspired by his agricultural instructor, Mr. Taylor.
“I saw how much he did for Okmulgee and how much he poured into me and saw something in me when I didn’t,” Delonia said. “That’s why I want to go into agricultural education.”
Delonia is looking forward to his next chapter of life now serving as an agricultural leader as he steps from an Okmulgee FFA member to serving as an Oklahoma FFA state officer and begining his college experience.
“I just want to be present and in the moment this year,” Delonia said. “I hope FFA members learn to be authentic and genuine this year, and I hope to represent that.”
