SANTA MARIA HIGH SCHOOL
Agriculture Education and FFA
FFA Leadership Team
Jorge Gonzalez-President
President – Kayce VanHorn
Hey Santa Maria FFA. My name is Kayce Van Horn and I am so excited to serve as your 2024-2025 Chapter President! This year I will be a senior and it will be my fourth year in FFA. Over the last year I served as the Santa Maria FFA Reporter, competed in extemporaneous public speaking all the way to the state level, and been on the State Champion Soil and Land Evaluation Team. I also enjoy showing goats for the Santa Barbara County Fair. This year, I also have the honor of serving as the South Coast Region Reporter. This organization has become the home I never knew I needed and can be the same for you! Outside of FFA, I am in other clubs such as Close Up Washington, Girl Scouts, and Link Crew, as well as love to cook/bake and spend time with friends and family. My goal for the year is to see growth in each of your lives.  I have grown and continue to grow because of effort, grit, passion, and dedication, so never forget that CON GANAS, todo se puede.
Vice President I - David Guerra
ow’s it going Santa Maria FFA? If I haven’t had the opportunity to meet you, my name is David Guerra, and this year I will be serving as one of your vice presidents. I will be a senior this year progressing through my 4th year in FFA. I’ve participated in as many events as possible ranging from opening closing, multiple types of public speaking, parliamentary procedure, the tree pruning, farm power, and Forestry judging teams. On top of that I have been involved in the Ag leadership class for 3 years, going on 4, where I have previously served as the activities and games committee chair and helped plan and run our FFA events. This year I will be the main person overseeing the community service aspect of our chapter as well. Besides that I enjoy spending my time playing on our schools cross country and baseball teams, and being involved in other clubs on campus, as well as working in and out of the ag shop. The most memorable part of high school is definitely the involvement with clubs and the friends that you make. This is why FFA is the perfect place to be😉. My team and I hope to work hard to make this year a great and unforgettable one! We are ready to help you be fully involved. If you happen to see me around, come say hi and let’s get to know each other!
Vice President II – Emma Rodriguez
Hey Santa Maria FFA!! My name is Emma Rodriguez and I am extremely excited to be serving as one of your 2024-2025 Vice Presidents. I am currently a senior and this will be my fourth year in FFA.  Throughout my time in FFA I have been involved in a wide variety of things like, competing in speaking competitions such as Opening and Closing and job interview, been a state, sectional and regional delegate, attended MFE and two State conferences, raised market rabbits and market lambs, done lots of community service, and been a part of the Vet Science CDE team for three years. Being involved in FFA these past years has really helped me grow as a person and a leader and gave me the opportunity to meet many people who are now some of my closest friends. Outside of the blue jacket, you can find me serving as your ASB Vice President, hanging out with my friends and family, baking a delicious dessert, or practicing with my escaramuza team! I can’t wait to see what this year holds and I look forward to meeting new people and creating lots of new memories! If you see me around campus feel free to ask me any questions or say hi! 
Secretary – Melanie Castillo-Leyva
What’s up Saints! My name is Melanie Castillo-Leyva and I am so excited to be serving as your 2024-2025 chapter secretary! Over the past two years in the FFA, I have been involved in attending leadership conferences, served over 40 hours of community service, and even have had the opportunity to be a state finalist for Spanish Creed. Although there are many things I love doing in the FFA outside of it I love spending time with friends and family. I also really enjoy drawing and painting on my free time, dancing in ballet folklórico, and even picking up my guitar to learn a couple of songs! Being in the FFA has really been an impactful experience for me as it has allowed me to grow as a person and a leader. The FFA has so many experiences to offer, just like how this year at fair I had the opportunity to show my market pig Valentina who I grew to love a ton. Although I do spend quite a bit of time in the AG building.. If you can’t find me in my blue jacket, I’m probably in my folklórico shoes dancing my heart away in Ethel pope. I’m so excited for what this upcoming year holds for us, and I strongly encourage you members to really utilize the opportunity to be involved in our chapter as you never know where it may lead you. Let’s make this year a great one, Lets go Saints!
Treasurer – Victoria Sanchez
HELLO SANTA MARIA FFA!! My name is Victoria Sanchez and I will have the pleasure in serving you as your 2024-2025 Chapter Treasurer. I have been in FFA for the past 3 years and I will be entering my senior year. I have been involved in raising Market Chickens for two years and I’m on the Nursery Landscape team. I have also done competitions like Opening and Closing and Job Interview. My favorite events that I have participated in was being both a Regional and State delegate and doing multiple hours of community service. FFA has helped me gain friendships, skills, and opportunities that I shall cherish for a long time. Outside of the blue jacket I’m in Close Up Washington. Some other things I love to do is hang out with my friends, going swimming and listening to music, my favorites are currently Frank Ocean and Gracie Abrams. So with that I hope to meet you all and make the most out of this year. I hope to see you and get to know you and teaching you what Santa Maria FFA is all about. I know that if we work together we will be “Victorious”. Can’t wait to see you Santa Maria Saints!!
Reporter 1 - Melissa Ramirez
Hi saints! My name is Melissa Ramirez. I am currently a Senior completing my 4th year as an FFA member. I have been presented with the amazing opportunity to serve as the 2024–2025 chapter Reporter. I am extremely honored and proud to be part of our amazing chapter and I cannot wait to see how much our chapter continues to expand even more with our leadership, teamwork and communication skills along the way. Through my time in FFA I have stayed involved by being a 3rd time Lamb and Rabbit exhibitor for the Santa Barbara County Fair. I have been competing in public speaking events since  my freshman year until this point. I also had the opportunity to attend many conferences in the past and one of my recent ones has been State Conference. I am excited to meet and create new and great FFA friends along the way during this year. I hope that once you are presented with the opportunity to participate in FFA, you take it and do not let fear take over because that competition, conference or FFA event can lead you to strengthen your leadership skills and you can incorporate your skills to continue our chapter’s growth. 
Sentinel – Ariel Para
"Hey Santa Maria FFA! My name is Ariel Parra and I’m going to be serving as your 2024-2025 Chapter Sentinel. I have been in FFA for the last two years, in those years I have competed in impromptu public speaking, Nursery & Landscaping Judging team and not to mention over 45 hours of community service. Also, I will be raising a turkey at the Santa Barbara County Fair as one of my two SAE projects. My other project is my job working with my dad who’s an arborist to cut down trees and landscape in the Santa Barbara County. My favorite part of the FFA is the traveling to places I haven’t seen and most importantly helping my community. As well as serving as your Chapter Sentinel I will also be serving as your Sectional Historian! Outside of my jacket I enjoy cooking, swimming, listening to music, telling jokes, and going crazy on the dance floor. My goal for this year is to create unique and fun experiences to help more people get involved and most importantly enjoy their time in FFA. I hope to get to know as many people as possible in our Chapter and Section so feel free to come up to me and start a conversation.
Historian - Aaron Richards
What’s up, Santa Maria FFA! Hello my fellow Saints. For those of you who don’t recognize me or who are unfamiliar with my name, let me introduce myself. My name is Aaron Richards I have the honor of being your 2024-2025 Chapter Historian. I will be a junior this Fall and have had the pleasure of taking part in FFA activities with SMHS going on three years. During my time with FFA, I have attended MFE and State Conference, completed more than 20 hours of community service, and have been involved in different FFA public speaking events. This year I joined the CDE Poultry Team. Although my experience with raising a farm animal is limited, I have enjoyed being a member of the poultry team and look forward to showcasing my two chickens (Bertha and Girtha) at the 2024 Santa Barbara County Fair. Outside of the blue and gold jacket, I am in AVID, a Link Crew leader, and have lettered in boys Tennis, Waterpolo, and Swim. I enjoy camping, going to the beach, listening to music, and spending time with my family and friends. I look forward to meeting each and every one of you and hope to call you, friend.