FFA- ILSSO South Africa

Greetings! My name is Kaitlyn Tallamy and I am twenty years old, currently a sophomore at Northampton Community College, majoring in secondary education, with the intent to become a high school agricultural educator. This past May, I have been selected to serve the New Jersey FFA Association as the State Treasurer. This position is a leadership role where I am serving alongside six other  individuals to promote premier leadership, personal growth, and career success through agriculture, to more than 2,500 members of New Jersey FFA. The position alone is unpaid and requires me to devote a lot of my time to the success of the organization. As a State Officer, I have many responsibilities, such as putting on conferences, traveling to schools to promote agriculture and leadership, meet and greet with stakeholders, and much more! As you can probably tell, the National FFA Organization has played a large role in my life for the last six years. It has constantly pushed me out of my comfort zone, prepared me to work with others, and helped me find a passion for agriculture and leadership. FFA is continuing to impact my life each day and this year specifically the FFa is  providing me the opportunity to travel abroad through the International Leadership Seminar for State Officers (ILSSO) Conference.


This year, ILSSO is taking 75 students to South Africa, January 2 – 16, 2019. The trip will begin with traveling to New York City for a two-day orientation. From NYC, we will fly to South Africa where we will begin our travels through Johannesburg and Cape Town. While there we will participate in safaris, visit farms and local markets, discuss trade relationships between the US & South Africa,  learn about government affairs, and explore other attractions. The whole purpose of this trip is to allow State Officers to gain a better understanding of global agriculture, learn about technology and methods used for South African agriculture, become more culturally aware, and gain new leadership perspectives, while admiring another beautiful part of this world.


ILSSO has a cost of $4600 per student, just for the trip itself. Payment for this trip starts August as a $400 deposit is due. Than starting October 15th one of two $2100 payments are due, the other is due six weeks after the October date. As a college student who has this leadership role, I am looking for people to sponsor me and help towards my expenses. If granted to attend this opportunity of a lifetime, I plan on using this to inform other people about my experiences and the importance of this trip, especially my supporters. As this may be a huge goal, I would like to raise $4800, for the trip and any other expenses such as passports and food.


If you would like to learn more about my role as a State Officer, the National FFA Organization, or the trip itself, I have provided links below that can help you better understand any questions you may have.


https://www.ffa.org/participate/global/ilsso

https://ffa.app.box.com/s/k3xh38m45lc2r6eds5ksf4wwxb0q05op

https://www.state.nj.us/agriculture/ag_ed/ffa/

https://www.ffa.org/home


If these links still leave you with questions, feel free to contact me.

If you would like to donate to my cause and wish to not do it on this method, you can donate directly to the NJ FFA Foundation Inc, writing my name and “ILSSO” in the memo. Doing this method will have you directly donate to the non- profit organization and will allow you to receive tax redemption!


Thank you for your  time and consideration in this endeavor. I know that I would not be able to do half of what I do if it were not for the agricultural community and supporters around me.