Wilmington College Hosts Speak to Lead

by Claire Loudon

Collegiate volunteers from Wilmington College's Agricultural Education Society helped to make Speak to Lead possible for Ohio FFA members.

On Thursday, February 5th, 2026, Wilmington College’s Agricultural Education Society hosted their annual Speak to Lead contest. This contest is a staple for many FFA members, giving them firsthand experience in preparation for the Ohio FFA Public Speaking Career Development Event (CDE) hosted each spring. Public Speaking is one of Ohio FFA’s more successful and popular CDEs. It teaches members to face one of the world's biggest fears, public speaking, while advocating for a field they all love, agriculture. 

This CDE has multiple categories to ensure each member not only faces public speaking but becomes diverse and confident in it. Freshmen have the opportunity to recite the FFA Creed to start their journey in public speaking. Upperclassmen have the choice of three great categories: beginning prepared, advanced prepared, and extemporaneous. All of which are beneficial and have their own unique criteria which must be met. Confident public speaking skills is what makes a great leader, so investing time in the younger generation of agriculturists and leaders is crucial.

The only thing that makes public speaking more comfortable is lots of practice. With this in mind, Wilmington College’s Agricultural Education Society makes sure that their invitational provides a good experience and even better feedback for the upcoming contest season. This year, the club was fortunate enough to host six different schools from all over Ohio, helping fifty-three Ohio FFA members perfect their speaking abilities. The Agricultural Education Society came together as a team and pulled judges from all over, along with passionate volunteers who were happy to help. 

Having high school students on campus is always fun, because not only do we get to show off our facility to future Wilmington students, but we also get to show them what they could be a part of if they chose to attend Wilmington College. Speak To Lead is a learning experience not just for the participants but also for the volunteers. Each volunteer that was present that night had a couple things in common; their love of helping the next generation and their love for an organization that helped build them, FFA. If you involve yourself and continue to carry your passion with you in all walks of life, FFA is something that will always be present. FFA requires many different roles, and through Speak to Lead, the Wilmington College Agricultural Education Society experienced one of those roles firsthand.