Heading into IHS as a freshman, Lorie Carpenter thought she’d pursue a career in agricultural business.
It made sense.
She grew up on a farm where her dad raises cattle, and she has a small herd of her own.
And her mom taught high school business classes for 30 years.
So it naturally followed that she would join FFA at her first opportunity.
But even the best laid plans can turn awry.
“I realized I don’t like business and I’m also not really that interested in agriculture,” Carpenter admitted.
Then, a knee injury required she receive physical therapy, which flipped the proverbial switch.
She enjoyed learning so much about her knee’s path to healing that she plans to focus on becoming a physical therapist at Kansas State University.
Even so, Carpenter doesn’t dismiss FFA’s impact on her life.
“You get introduced to all sorts of different things,” she said. “People always think of it as cattle judging and it’s not just that.”
Carpenter focuses on public speaking and parliamentary procedure. She competes in those categories, and finds she is quite successful.
“My favorite speech was about xenotransplantation. It was about taking pig organs and putting them into humans,” she said. “I did that my sophomore year. It sounds really weird but it was really cool.”
She enjoys learning about unusual subjects. The weirder, the better.
And, it always ties back to agriculture.
“Like those pigs. They may not be used to consume, but somebody has to raise them. Somebody has to keep them fed and watered, and happy and healthy.”
This year, it’s been difficult to compete in public speaking contests, which are pre-recorded and sent to a judge.
“It’s very difficult to motivate yourself to memorize a speech you’re just going to record,” she said. “When I go to competition and I’m standing in front of a judge, I have that immediate feedback.
