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Teen of the Week: Fort Frye’s Alexis White balances school, agricultural projects

By Jeffrey Saulton 4 min read

BEVERLY -- Balancing school with projects for the FFA and 4-H has paid off for Alexis White, a junior at Fort Frye High School.

White completed her sophomore year at the school with an A average and has been raising lambs, ducks and pigs for market. She also had an internship where she has worked with breeding lambs and also explored an aspect of agriculture -- floriculture, the study of flowers and their uses.

"I've been in FFA since I was in the eighth grade," she said. "I started out being in the FFA at the Marietta FFA chapter, but then we moved from that school to Fort Frye because we knew how involved Fort Frye was in the FFA chapter."

In the past year White said she has had several opportunities at a different school. She said those include the possibility to travel to Ireland with the FFA in the near future.

"We will get to view everything from a farm aspect and how everything varies from our country compared to Ireland," she said. "We'll get to see everything from an agriculture aspect and get to see how everything is different there compared to how we are here."

Since she just completed her sophomore year, White said she is not sure what she wants to do when she graduates.

"FFA has really opened up my opportunities as to where I might want to go," she said. "I've been involved in a wide number of supervised agricultural experiences and career development events."

That is where she has been able to show market lambs, market ducks, market hogs and breeding sheep.

"I am also involved in an internship through Campbell Farms where I get to work with floriculture, which is the study of flowers," she said. "I also get to help with breeding sheep and general chores."

In career development events she placed first in her district for public speaking and she was able to go and compete at the state level.

"I competed in job interview where I placed first in District 10 and went back to the state level placing in the top ten," she said. "I also competed in general livestock, urban soils and rural soils."

White said balancing school work with FFA can be difficult.

"We make it work," she said.

At Fort Frye, White said she has taken a food science class and a livestock class.

"Those classes have broadened my knowledge on what goes on from the agricultural aspect; from being in the kitchen with food science, getting to work with different food and labs and the livestock experienced many hands-on opportunities."

They got to study the digestive system of sheep and how food works its way through the system.

White said she has narrowed down her choices for future FFA.

"At the 96th state FFA convention, I got to be a student reporter through Ohio Ag Net," she said "I got to be involved in the social media part, shooting B roll video, and photography and getting to mingle with the student reporters and others."

She also got to meet with the state FFA officers and what they do behind the scenes.

In addition to FFA, she is involved with 4-H Carteens program.

"Carteens is sponsored by the juvenile court system," she said. "Whenever a teen violates a traffic law, a group of teens, as part of their community service, help them understand traffic safety on a different level through a series of games to help them realize how important it is to be safe on the road."

White said she plans to stay with FFA through her junior and senior years.

"I hope to be as involved as I can at the school and helping out with what needs to be done," she said. "I am actually a secretary for Fort Frye chapter for the 2024-2025 school year."

White said while many see FFA as an agriculture program, that is only one part.

"It's a future for all," she said. "Anyone can be involved and while it may be more agriculturally driven there are many leadership opportunities.

"I am a person who is open to any opportunity I'm given."

Jeffrey Saulton can be reached at jsaulton@newsandsentinel.com

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