When I enrolled in my agricultural education course as a sophomore, my parents worried I would not have extra time to have a job. I spoke with my agricultural education instructor and she told me she always needed extra seasonal help maintaining the greenhouse after school. I began selling plants to customers in the spring as an employee in our school’s greenhouse business. By working hard for customers and helping the team, I was selected in my junior year to be the CEO of our School-Based Enterprise.

I love my SAE because I get to work with my peers and serve our community from our school greenhouse. High school keeps my friends and I busy. Being able to work on campus and learn more about agriculture in the process feels more like a hobby than a job. With the guidance of our student management team and community board of directors, I received a lot of support and advice to improve our business. I love my SAE because it shows younger FFA members the reward that comes from working hard for the things you care about.

Toward the end of our first selling season, our sales decreased and we stopped seeing new customers at the greenhouse. Our student management team decided to spend time developing promotional materials to spread the word about our products. We launched a marketing campaign to inform businesses and other citizens within our community about our business. My senior year we started looking into the possibility of a school garden. With the help of our agricultural education instructor, we had a fully functioning school garden to care for, and sell from, by the end of the school year.

Gaining three years of experience in the greenhouse through my School-Based Enterprise SAE has given me the desire to study horticulture and start my own business. I want to continue the work I started at my school and educate people within my community about plant life and how each of them can start their own garden.