NYM alum was honored at FFA National Convention

By Tucker Henderson

Reporter

It’s not everyday that an FFA member receives an Honorary American Degree. In fact, the honor is quite rare, with less than one percent of all FFA members receiving the degree each year. It makes it that much more special that 2005 New York Mills High School graduate Desiree “Desi” Severance received her American Degree recently at the FFA National Convention in Indianapolis, Indiana.

“I heard the news initially on my FFA Officer retreat,” said Severance. “We were in the middle of some team bonding when I received a text message from a neighboring ag teacher congratulating me. I was confused, but when I hopped on social media I saw that North Dakota FFA announced their nominees for the Honorary Degree and it was a very special moment to share with my students.”

To qualify for an Honorary American Degree, FFA members must provide exceptional service on a national level to agriculture, agricultural education, or FFA, or be a teacher with a high-quality agricultural education program that has achieved at least 85 percent FFA membership among students and has taught for a minimum of 10 years. Nomination requires a submission through the State FFA Association for approval before it can be forwarded to the National FFA Organization.

Severance was secretly nominated by her own chapter in Wyndmere, N.D. and had no idea that this news was coming.

“When I found out about it, it was a complete shock,” she said. “The ceremony itself took place in Indianapolis at the National FFA Convention on October 31. I was in the company of the top leaders and mentors in the country of the youth organization and was feeling a little bit of imposter syndrome.”

Though Severance did not know that she was destined to be a teacher during her high school years, she does credit a number of influences from her hometown.

“I did not hear the call of teaching until my sophomore year of college; however I was pretty active in FFA in high school and I had some pretty amazing teachers at New York Mills that most assuredly influenced my path,” she said. “My parents, Don and Sandi Carrlson, were my first teachers and were the ones that gave me my love of agriculture and natural resources.

“Some of my favorite teachers in high school were Paul Detloff, my ag teacher, Bill Brown, my band teacher, Jay Sorenson, social studies, Heidi Dresser, English, and Jason Boe, social studies,” she continued. “I attended college at the University of Minnesota in Crookston. I started out majoring in Natural Resources but changed my major later on to a double major in agricultural education and animal science. The change came when I realized that I was interested in a huge variety of subjects and ag education allowed me to learn about everything!”

Now a teacher with 16 years of experience under her belt, Severance enjoys each moment of her career as an agricultural educator. From horticulture to metal shop courses, every day has something different to teach to the next generation of students.

“It is certainly never boring,” she said. “Even after 16 years I find a thrill in it. I love the variety that I get to expose my students to throughout the day. One hour I may be talking about wildlife, then we are going into agronomy, then we may be welding, then I may be teaching how to process meat, and then we are working in the greenhouse. While I love exposing my students to all aspects of the agriculture industry, the most rewarding thing is helping them become better versions of themselves during one of the toughest stages of life.”

This year’s National FFA Convention was one to remember for Severance, but it was especially impactful for her as she was able to bring two of her children along for the experience and was able to share this achievement with them.

“This year was even more special because it was the first year I was able to bring two of my own children with me,” said Severance. “I love sharing this organization that I am so passionate about with my kids and seeing them blossom through FFA and watching them take advantage of the amazing opportunities is fulfilling. My job has taken me away from my family quite often though the years, unfortunately, so being able to have them with finally is a blessing.”