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Illinois student making American FFA Degree a family tradition

An Illinois student is making the honor of receiving the National FFA Degree a family tradition.

Anna Kistner of the Sesser-Valier FFA Chapter in southern Illinois is now part of the less than 1% of members to receive the highest honor in the organization, an achievement her grandpa reached 58 years ago.

“When I told my grandpa I did it, I got my American Degree. He said, ‘I’m going to convention!’ It meant the world to me to have him there.”

Her FFA career may have come to a close, but she wants to keep the tradition alive for her brother who just started his.

“My goal is to help him get his American Degree too because that would be something special if all three of us could have it from the same school. And we figured it up, if everything goes well, he would get his at the 100^th National FFA Convention.”                

Kistner will graduate from Rend Lake College in May and transfer to Southern Illinois University Carbondale to pursue a degree in plant and soil science with the goal of becoming an agronomist.