The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

WAITSBURG - Af- ter four years as an FFA rock star at Waitsburg High School and touring the country as an agricultural representative for one year, Christy Poirier is now earning the highest honor in FFA - the American Degree.

"I promised myself I would get an American degree," Po- irier said.

And she sure did.

Poirier is off in late October to the National FFA Conven- tion in Indiana to receive her award.

According to the FFA web- site, "The American FFA Degree is awarded to FFA members who have demon- strated the highest level of commitment to FFA and made significant accomplishments in their Supervised Agricul- tural Experiences."

Poirier will be joined by her former FFA adviser Nicole Abel and Waitsburg FFA chap- ter member Beka Adams.

Poirier, 19, is just six weeks into her freshman year at Washington State University. She is an agriculture major who plans to become a sales representative for livestock medication or feed or she plans to become an agriculture teacher.

"I debate between the two," she said with a laugh.

Her experience with raising livestock begins much earlier than her days in the Waitsburg FFA. Poirier grew up on a cattle farm outside of town and she has raised beef since she was born. She was told stories that her parents would take her on four-wheelers around the farm to complete daily chores when she was just a few months old.

"As I got older, I had more responsibilities," Poirier said.

When she was nine years old, she decided to raise pigs as well and showed them at the fair every year. She said she became more competitive as she got older and earned grand champion market hog and many showmanship awards.

When she joined FFA in high school, she set to work on her Supervised Agricultural Experience projects, which included taking on even more tasks with the cows on the farm. She said she raised cows of her own in addition to her pigs. She began bottle feeding her own calf, learned how to give the animals vaccinations and helped her parents in calving season.

For the swine, she took 100 percent responsibility for her animals and fed them and weaned them.

"Christy is not a typical FFA member," Abel said. "Most freshmen want to be involved, but are not sure how they want to be involved or what options are available in the FFA. She was very driven from the first moment her freshman year when she stepped into (agriculture) class. She walked right up to me and told me she was going to do the Creed. Then after her first State Conven- tion she told me she was going to be a State FFA Of- ficer. Christy achieved both of those goals, plus so much more."

All of Poirier's hard work paid off quickly. She was the Washington State FFA Cam- pion in Diversified Livestock Production and a Star Farmer in 2010.

In 2011, she earned the Proficiency Award for Di- versified Livestock for being top in the state. Representing Waitsburg FFA, she was also a chapter officer, a district of- ficer and served as FFA State Sentinel from 2011-12. This opportunity as sentinel meant she deferred her freshman year at WSU to travel all over the country as an FFA ambassa- dor. She spent 250 days on the road, visited 125 high schools and gave about 300 leadership workshops. In addition to all of this travel, she also got to go to China for 10 days on an agricultural tour.

One of her biggest jobs was to help organize the FFA State Convention in Pullman where she also delivered a motiva- tional speech.

Her most recent honor, the American Degree, is awarded to her because of her five years of work as an FFA member on her Supervised Agricultural Experiences with the cattle and swine.

"Raising livestock - I've always loved it," Poirier said.

The requirements for the degree include a $7,500 in- vestment in the project or a $1,500 investment and work 2,250 hours beyond school work. Poirier invested $1,500 and completed all of the 2,250 hours.

"Christy's project is very strong." Abel said. "Not many kids raise two types of live- stock."

But the hardest part wasn't coming up with the money or logging the hours. The hardest part of earning her American Degree was the paperwork, she said. The ap- plication was about 10 to 15 pages that needed to be filled out. Poirier said she couldn't have done it all without the help of her adviser Nicole Abel who spent her Satur- days helping out.

"She guided me," Poirier said.

Poirier did attend the FFA National Convention last year in her sentinel role and she is excited to attend and see the friends she made on the road again. But, she's also looking forward to going with Adams and Abel from Waitsburg to receive her award.

"I'm excited to go with people from my chapter," Poirier said. "It's a really big honor, especially because I've invested so much time."