Recent Penn Manor graduates Vita Failla, Molly Gehr and Carly Railing were notified that they are recipients of the American FFA Degree, which is the highest honor for a member of the FFA.
To qualify for an American Degree, members must earn at least $10,000 through a supervised agricultural experience (SAE) or earn at least $2,000 and work at least 2,250 hours outside of class time through their SAE. An SAE is a program in which FFA members own their own business, hold a professional position as an employee or conduct research.
Degree recipients must also complete at least 50 hours of community service with at least three different activities. Less than one percent of FFA members qualify and earn the American FFA Degree each year.
Vita is a 2024 graduate of Penn Manor and has been involved in Manor FFA since 2019. She raised market goats for six years and market hogs for two years through Manor FFA.
She has dedicated over 2,000 hours working at Kneisley Family Farms picking pumpkins, packing eggs in a commercial layer house at Coffee Street Acres, and working on her grandparents property, Letort Valley Farms, in the broiler breeder chicken house managing a flock of 19,000 birds.
Vita made around $28,000 from her projects and had $9,000 invested into her livestock projects.
Vita is currently a sophomore at Penn State York majoring in agribusiness management. She hopes to own her own agritourism farm in the future and carry on Paw Paw’s legacy of working in the farming industry.
Since retiring from showing livestock, she has been raising ducks and growing specialty fall crops. Vita plans to continue to help her younger sister with goat showmanship through 4-H in the coming years.
Molly graduated from Penn Manor in 2024 and was the Chapter Reporter in 2023. She will be in attendance at the National FFA Convention & Expo to receive her honorary degree.
Gehr raised market sheep to show at a local fair and worked at Riverside Blooms, a local flower farm, earning about $21,080 throughout her time in Manor FFA. Her SAE’s involved approximately 600 hours of outside class work.
She completed over 105 hours of community service, including a mission trip to Kentucky and West Virginia with her church. She also volunteered at the Tomato Festival, a craft camp, the food pantry and Blessings of Hope.
She is currently pursuing a post-secondary degree at Delaware Valley University as an animal science major, specializing in livestock production and management. She hopes to start her own breeding business with sheep and cattle.
Carly is a 2024 Penn Manor graduate and was an officer for two years as a member of Manor FFA. She contributes the officer positions with challenging her and helping to build her confidence in areas like public speaking
She began working on a dairy farm the summer after her freshman year. She was responsible for milking over 400 cows and occasionally feeding the calves. Her SAE experience at the dairy farm gave her a knowledge about animal science and farming. Railing also raised pigs for the Lampeter Fair for three years and lambs for a year. Her time at the dairy farm raising the animals fulfilled the SAE requirement.
She was an active member in Manor FFA by volunteering at community events and serving with her youth group. Carly attended several missions trips through her youth group and served at Water Street Mission with the Manor FFA officer team.
Carly participated in two Career Development Events (CDE’s), poultry evaluation and floriculture. The CDE’s provided the opportunity to try out different types of careers.
Railing is in the nursing program at Harrisburg Area Community College and hopes to become a licensed RN.
Congratulations Vita, Molly and Carly on this honor! A huge thank you to the agricultural teachers for their dedication in shaping these individuals.