A packed house of FFA members, advisors and guests sits on the edge of their seats in Lucas Oil Stadium as the Chicago Bulls theme song blares. This can only mean one thing: The leadership team that will guide the National FFA Organization for the upcoming year is about to be announced.
One student who made it past the final round of interviews hails from the state of Nebraska. Knowing the first name called would be the Central Region vice president, everyone on stage is filled with anxiety and nervousness.
When Claire Woeppel’s name was announced, she was in shock. Making her way to the stage, she could see her friends, family and Nebraska FFA members tearing up with excitement at her success.
Woeppel, a University of Nebraska-Lincoln student from Chambers, grew up on a cattle ranch. She joins 15 other Nebraska FFA members since 1928 to serve on the national officer team. With her production agriculture background, she said she will carry these experiences and knowledge with her as she serves the National FFA Organization.
Taking time to listen and get to know everyone she interacts with, Woeppel has hope for her upcoming year of service.
“I hope that they feel like the most important person in the world in that moment when I’m talking to them,” Woeppel said. “Something that I really value are those close connections with one another, and I desire the opportunity to make students, and everyone, feel heard and seen and valued in every conversation that I have.”
Path to the stage
Woeppel’s involvement in agriculture started at a young age. Her mother, Ann, grew up on a dairy farm, and her father, Jeremy, keeps the family tradition of raising beef cattle. From showing various animals in 4-H to participating in static exhibits, Woeppel is deeply rooted in agriculture.
When she entered seventh grade, she got involved in FFA. She held chapter office positions and always dreamed of holding the highest leadership position FFA had to offer. While this might have been a big dream, she leaned on the experience of her mentors.
“I have to give so much credit to the past national officers who made an impact on me and were intentional with their conversations,” Woeppel said. “They answered all my questions about their year of service. The influence that I’ve had from national officers is something that I hope to continue for members across the nation.”
Woeppel served on the 2024-25 Nebraska state officer team as vice president. Throughout her year of service, the people she interacted with and mentored provided her with the most memorable takeaway.
“We hosted our first Ignite conference for seventh, eighth and ninth grade FFA members, and I met a student named Kaylee,” Woeppel said. “She was just so wonderful, and I had the great privilege to be someone that she looked up to and someone who influenced her. She stayed connected with me all throughout my year as a state officer, and I saw her again at a few other conferences.”
She shares many similar stories of being able to mentor Nebraska FFA members, just as officers before her had mentored her. She says FFA members are the reason she wanted to serve at the state level, and now at the national level.
But reaching the national level took extensive preparation and self-reflection. Before submitting her application, she spent months of introspection.
“I prepared for months and started asking myself, ‘What if I’m elected, or what if I’m not elected?’” Woeppel said. “There were so many what-ifs. There was a lot riding on my decision, and ultimately, it was rooted in my faith. So, I said yes to this purpose and to this choice.”
Advocating for agriculture
Woeppel will relocate to Indianapolis this year. She wants people to know she will keep her small-town values and focus on agriculture throughout her year of service.
“FFA has always been rooted in agriculture,” Woeppel said. “While we have made improvements to include FFA members who maybe won’t have a future in agriculture, it’s still important that we keep the tradition of agriculture. Know that as long as I’m a national officer, agriculture will be strongly represented in this student organization.”
Her advice to FFA members rings true not only for those involved in the organization, but also for any young adult working to accomplish their dreams.
“Understand that your circumstances don’t define your future,” Woeppel said. “I can say this because I come from an extremely small community. I graduated with six other people in my class. Our resources were very limited.”
She continues to encourage students by saying that no matter what the past looks like, it is the grit and unique experiences members have that will help them reach their goals.