MHS sophomore participates in Spanish Creed competition at FFA Nationals
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Marshalltown High School sophomore Flolangel Dessin joined the FFA chapter because she loves an opportunity to try something new, and she recently participated in the Spanish Creed competition at FFA Nationals in Indianapolis.
According to FFA Adviser Tara Gray, this is the fourth year of the Spanish Creed contest, which requires competitors to recite the Creed and answer judges' three open-ended questions on it. The FFA website says the event "enhances public speaking skills, builds self-confidence, and advances FFA members in the degree program," and this is the fourth year that it has been offered in Spanish as well as English. The creed itself is five paragraphs explaining the future of what agriculture should be and how FFA members are going to gain skills and morals to support the industry.
Dessin, whose family hails from the Dominican Republic, actually speaks a total of five languages fluently -- English, Spanish, French, Creole and Portuguese.
Gray said this was the biggest year yet for participation, with 46 individuals from across the country competing, and when Dessin was sitting in class, she heard about the need for a Spanish speaker to compete and jumped at the opportunity.
"I didn't even know what it was, but I said 'Me!' Because I volunteer for everything, and I just joined," she said.
Dessin, whose family owns livestock in the Dominican Republic, said animal agriculture is what she is most interested in, and she was excited to travel all the way to Indianapolis and present before the judges.
"It just felt like I did something important. I made it to Nationals, just get it done with. And I did, and I think I did pretty good," she said.
The Spanish itself, she and Gray noted, is a more academic/traditional dialect from Spain, so it took some adjustment on Dessin's part to prepare for it.
"It was really hard," she said.
Before she graduates from MHS, Dessin wants to find another contest to compete in and convince her younger sister to do the Spanish Creed, which is only available to students who are sophomores and younger.
"For now, I'm just keeping my grades up, keep doing what I'm doing and don't die doing wrestling," she joked.
And for Gray, bringing students like Dessin into the fold of FFA highlights the diversity of agriculture around the world beyond the traditional corn and soybeans Iowa is best known for producing.
"I have a lot of students that their farming background looks so much different because grandma and grandpa have a farm and they just have a couple cattle, and it's in another country. And that's a totally different style," she said. "Flo's family back in the Dominican, they actually have their own animal farm, and they do a lot there. She was talking to me about that on the way to Nationals, but on top of that, getting people from different backgrounds and getting them excited about the world of agriculture is huge. Obviously, I don't speak Spanish, but I love doing this contest because all the students help coach her."
Former FFA students who speak fluent Spanish were happy to pick up the slack and help Dessin throughout the process.
"Our entire FFA chapter is such a big family, and they all want to support each other and make sure they're successful," Gray said.
Contact Robert Maharry at (641) 753-6611 ext. 255 or rmaharry@timesrepublican.com.