OFI 1952: A Vision Bigger Than Herself | FFA SAE Edition | Morelia Vieyra Santana | Madera High School FFA

Morelia Vieyra Santana is a 2023 National Proficiency Winner in the category of Equine Science. She is also a previous guest on the Off-Farm Income Podcast, appearing when she was a sophomore in high school in 2021.

When I first interviewed Morelia, I was taken with how bold she was in her role at her families horse boarding, training and events business in Madera, California. Not only was she working steadily in the business, but she was taking ownership of more than her assigned role and suggesting changes that she believed would improve their operation.

Knowing what I knew from our first meeting, it should have been no surprise to learn that she was a proficiency winner. It should have also been no surprise to learn that she no longer considered her role just as a member of her family and her families business. Today, she sees her role as representing her Mexican Heritage and that style of horsemanship as an ambassador to the greater agriculture community in the Central Valley of California.

Morelia is attending Fresno State University and studying agriculture business. She plans on using what she learns in college to improve the business side of her families business. At the same time, she wants to spread Mexican Horse Dancing to an even wider group of people and audience. She sees it as her role to make this part of her heritage more pervasive and known to a much larger audience than it currently enjoys.

SUPERVISED AGRICULTURAL EXPERIENCE: Rancho Alegre Stables and Arena

HIGH SCHOOL: Madera South High School; Madera, California

MASCOT: Stallions

FFA ADVISOR: Julie Luxon

CONTACT INFORMATION FOR MORELIA VIEYRA SANTANA:

Click on the picture below to be taken to the Madera South High School Ag. Department’s website:

Morelia’s FFA Advisor’s Email Address: julieluxon@maderausd.org

Madera South High School Telephone Number: 559-675-4450

FFA LINKS:

National FFA Organization

Supervised Agricultural Experiences (SAE’s)

Support FFA

Donate to FFA – FFA students can start small businesses through an FFA grant of $1,000. In 2014, 141 FFA students received these grants. With your donations, more students can get this head start – pay it forward.

REASONS TO DONATE TO FFA:

Only 2% of Americans grow and raise most of the food and livestock consumed by the other 98% and the rest of the world. FFA provides the needed education, training, and resources to Americans that will carry that torch forward and ensure that America continues to have inexpensive, quality food.
Rural Communities will rely on entrepreneurship in the future for population growth and job creation. The FFA is a major catalyst to that entrepreneurial growth.
Farmers, ranchers, and those working in agriculture give the rest of America incredible amounts of freedom because the food search is as simple as going to the grocery store:

“The future of American agriculture depends on the involvement and investment in America’s youth, In order to prepare for the population of tomorrow, we need to encourage America’s youth today, and show that careers in agriculture are profitable, rewarding, and vital.”. U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, Sonny Perdue