District Five graduate named South Carolina FFA President
June 22, 2016
IRMO, SC – Agriculture has always been a passion of Spring Hill High School graduate Austin Cathcart and his most recent achievement is just the tip of the iceberg. The Irmo native was named President of the South Carolina FFA Association for the 2016-17 year at the state conference of the organization at Clemson University in June. Austin recently served as president of the District Five FFA Chapter at The Center of Advanced Technical Studies (The Center).
“It was a dream come true and the highlight of my career in the FFA,” Austin said recently at the “Blast Off” leadership conference at the SC FFA. “I had worked for many years towards this goal. This would not have been possible without the superior agriculture program at The Center.”
During his time in high school, Austin thrived while competing in a number of state and national FFA Career Development Events. He was the high individual scorer on the state championship Livestock Evaluation team that competed in the national finals in 2013; named state winner in Extemporaneous Speaking and a semi-finalist in the national competition in 2015. He is also a member of the 2016 state championship Landscape-Nursery team that will compete in the national finals later this year.
The Agricultural program is just in its fourth year at The Center, but students like Austin have already turned it into one of the most recognized in the Palmetto state. “It is a tremendous honor for Austin to be elected as President of the South Carolina FFA,” Agricultural Education Instructor at The Center Kevin Sox said. “Austin defines what our program here at The Center stands for. We have some of the smartest and most hard working students in the state and I credit that to what a wonderful job District Five does in preparing our students and supporting our program.”
Through the Supervised Agriculture Experience at The Center, Austin had the incredible opportunity of breeding and raising his own herd of meat goats. When Austin was asked about his experiences at The Center, he said, “The Center taught me many life skills and lessons that I will carry for the rest of my life. These lessons will guide me in my future as I prepare for college.”
Austin graduated from high school with a GPA of 4.4 where he was a member of the Beta Club, the National Honor Society, the Student Advisory Committee of School District Five and the National Technical Honor Society. He was awarded a number of scholarships including a Life Scholarship, the Lexington County Farm-City Scholarship, the Lexington County Farm Bureau Young Farmer and Rancher Discussion Meet Scholarship, the Dutch Fork Chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation Scholarship, the State Fair Scholarship, the Spring Hill Young Farmer and Agribusiness Chapter Scholarship and the Pure Fishing Scholarship.
Austin and his twin brother Jacob will attend Clemson University this fall where they will both major in Agricultural Education. Austin will represent the SC FFA organization throughout the state and at the national level for the next 12 months exemplifying the mission of FFA which makes a positive difference in the lives of students by developing their potential for premier leadership, personal growth and career success through Agricultural Education.
