Muskogee High School sophomore Dylan Wood joined the FFA chapter when he was a freshman thanks to the encouragement of some close friends.

“Some of my closest friends at my past school had suggested I join the organization because of what I would like to do in the future. It could give me a head start fresh out of high school with the tons of scholarships they offer,” said Wood.

As a member of the Muskogee chapter, Wood said there are many things about FFA he has enjoyed including meeting new people.

“The most enjoyable thing about FFA, in my opinion, would have to be the amazing environment that seems to be at anything involving FFA. The people are very welcoming and enthusiastic. I was not very active throughout the whole year because of my involvement with some of our schools other programs, like football and wrestling,” said Wood.

Despite not showing animals, Wood said he highly recommends FFA for anyone who is interested the opportunities the program has to offer.

“It has so much to offer. There are lots of different programs to help you learn about different career paths, which can give you guidance outside of high school. On top of everything it offers, it is also a great way to stay busy and out of trouble, because of the great advisors and chapter leaders that every program has,” said Wood.

Also a wrestler and football player, Wood said he loves being part of both teams and has enjoyed wrestling season.

“My favorite part of wrestling are the lessons you learn. Just about everything I have learned in the room has so far carried over to something in life. The sport is not easy at all and is very mentally tough. The amount of confidence it has given me is unbelievable. I almost want to say life is easier after experiencing wrestling and what it takes to be good at the sport. I am also involved with our school’s football team, which has seen quite a bit of success in the past year and praying to see a lot more in the coming years,” said Wood.

The sophomore has big plans for his future. “I have big plans for my bright future, if I cannot ascend my athletic career to the pro level, I would like to use my high work ethic to become a construction project manager. Growing up with my grandfather, I was always brought to his construction sites to “help him work” but being just a child, I wasn’t able to help out all that much, so I observed. As I started getting older and started growing, he was able to teach me how to operate all of his different machinery and equipment so I could actually do some work instead of just running around being in the way. The more I started to do and learn, the more I grew the urge to want to know how to do it all,” said Wood.