By Nathan Deatrick   

“There is no growth in a comfort zone and no comfort in a growth zone.” This simple phrase was heard many times in my agriculture classroom at North Harrison High School, usually from my FFA advisor, Archie Sauerheber.

Typically, he said it when I was practicing for a new contest, talking to members from other chapters or preparing a speech to give in the community. After graduating, I never thought this phrase would follow me into state office or life, for that matter, but boy was I wrong!

These simple yet impactful words have also been said to me and my teammates many times by Joe Martin, the program specialist for Indiana FFA. I’ve heard them when I’m unsure about a reflection topic and am too afraid to be vulnerable, or when I’m about to facilitate a room full of members during a conference or at a chapter visit. Those words have been the same, regardless of what I’m doing.

Look ahead
This past February, as the state FFA officers headed to a cabin on the Ohio River in Magnet, Ind., for our keynote training retreat, our goal was to have a decent idea of what we wanted to talk about during our speeches for the FFA chapter banquet season. Each one of us will travel hundreds of miles and speak at as many banquets as we possibly can before school ends this spring.

This phrase kept being repeated in my head as I was writing out the three stories I wanted to use in the speech I would share with the chapters I visit for their banquets. My goal for my speech was to make a personal connection and share what I’ve learned from the crazy experiences I’ve had. 

I hoped I would impact the members I have the chance to talk with. My biggest struggle is to show emotion and to allow people to see the real me, flaws and all. But I realized that the most impactful stories in my life are of challenges I’ve faced.

Make an impact
Now that we’re approaching the heart of that chapter banquet season, I look back on the banquets I’ve already attended and the speeches I’ve given, and I see the growth that has allowed me to be comfortable giving these speeches to members, parents and supporters at those banquets. There are many more yet to come.

By stepping out of my comfort zone, I hope I can make an impact in FFA members’ lives like the impact my advisor and mentors had on me when they pushed me to step out of my comfort zone and grow into the young leader I strive to be.

Deatrick serves as the 2018-19 Indiana FFA Southern Region vice president. He writes from the Indiana FFA Leadership Center near Trafalgar.