Cowboy Orange & Corduroy: Ferguson hosts National FFA Officer Candidates
Friday, December 19, 2025
Media Contact: Sophia Fahleson | Digital Communications Specialist | 405-744-7063 | sophia.fahleson@okstate.edu
For the past two years at Oklahoma State University, Agricultural Hall has shifted from its signature America’s Brightest Orange® to a dominant sea of National Blue for one weekend, as National FFA officer candidates from across the country gather, preparing for the honor of serving on the next National FFA officer team.
“Hosting the National FFA Officer Candidate Experience at the Ferguson College of Agriculture brings a certain level of prestige to the college,” said Shane Robinson, agricultural education, communications and leadership professor and department head.
The event gathers National FFA officer candidates in Stillwater, Oklahoma, where they spend three days preparing for the National FFA officer selection process while engaging with OSU faculty, staff and students, Robinson said.
“In the summer of 2024, I received an email from Dr. Lusk indicating he had spoken with Ross McKnight, asking if we would take on the National Officer Candidate Experience and that he would be willing to help support it as he had in the past,” Robinson said.
“The only way we felt comfortable doing it was if Ryan Best, a former National FFA president and doctoral student in our program at the time, would be able to take the lead,” Robinson said.
Best’s strong credibility and work ethic proved he was the person needed to make this event happen and he hit the ground running, Robinson added.
When the conversation began about hosting this experience, Best said he had three main objectives in mind.
First, it would provide candidates with an opportunity to gain exposure to the National Officer selection process before National FFA Convention.
“This training provides a unique opportunity for students to experience something very similar to what they are going to experience at National FFA Convention,” Best said. “From timing to inter-viewing structure, we make the rounds as close as we can to mimicking the real national process.”
The next objective was to provide candidates with resources to take home and use to further train with their state associations, Best said.
“If we are being realistic, not all state associations have the same resources and funds available to them,” Best said.
“This is a chance to help those states and candidates gain a few extra resources and work with individuals who help build candidates’ confidence in who they are and what they have to offer,” Best said.
While establishing the event, one of the most significant goals was to help students network and build relationships with other candidates, he said.
“The week of National FFA Convention is already stressful enough,” Best said. “The whole week is collectively better when you have candidates who come in already friends and are ahead in the relationship-building process.”
OSU was the best fit for the training experience because of the access to resources available for candidates, Best said. Hosting this event involved more than the facilities, donors or sponsors — the true difference was the human capital behind it, he said.
There are more than 60 former state FFA officers, along with several former National FFA officers and former National FFA officer nominating committee members represented in the Ferguson College of Agriculture student body, Best said.
“Because of the people who are willing to donate their time and abilities, that is what truly makes this event world-class and a unique experience,” Best said.
When Best graduated from OSU in Spring 2025 with his doctorate in agricultural education, communications, and leadership, Robinson said, organizers began looking for a new leader to continue the training. Josiah Cruikshank, a former National FFA officer from Oregon, became the easy choice, he added.
“Both years I ran for national office, I would hear about states that had awesome mentorship pro-grams set up to prepare candidates for the selection process,” said Josiah Cruikshank, who is also the National FFA Officer Candidate Experience coordinator and agricultural economics graduate research assistant.
“Though this is great for states that have this apparatus in place, many states may not have as much access to these individuals,” Cruikshank said. “I am grateful to the mentors of mine who volunteered their time to work with me.”
Cruikshank said he appreciated the opportunity to participate, recognizing the experience as a key component in preparing him to run for national office, he added.
Cruikshank built upon Best’s foundation and led a successful training experience for candidates in October 2025, with the desire to make sure officer candidates have a similar experience as he once did, Robinson said.
“I remember arriving in Indianapolis as a candidate and it feeling like you are being analyzed every move, whether you are in an interview room or not,” Cruikshank said.
“The experience we give candidates in Oklahoma is very different from this, as we encourage them to be themselves, and we have structural components to help them do just that,” he said.
With 33 candidates in attendance, volunteers conducted realistic simulations of each of the six interviews candidates undergo in Indianapolis, Cruikshank said. In addition, informational sessions helped address any questions candidates had with individuals who had firsthand selection process experience, he said.
Each National FFA Officer Candidate Experience is designed not only to prepare candidates for the national officer selection process, but also to equip them for success as national officers, Cruikshank said.
Ultimately, the experience helps set them up for whatever is next, whether it means a year of service in blue corduroy or a life of service outside of the jacket, he added.
“The skills they are learning through this process and developing throughout their prep leading up to convention, all of it, not just during this weekend, are so transferable everywhere,” Best said.
“I had somebody once tell me that sometimes the students who are not successful in running for national office often have a greater reach than those who are successful because their service is not limited to strictly the blue jacket,” Best said.
As the experience concluded, Robinson indicated he hopes the Ferguson College of Agriculture can continue to keep this event around for years to come.
“I really believe this is just a humble approach by people to invest in others to try and make this an enjoyable, positive, learning experience for these national officer candidates,” Robinson said. “Because at the end of the day, these, in the truest sense, are the leaders going into the industry of agriculture. So, we all win when agricultural leaders are stronger.”
Without the help of OSU faculty, staff, former state and National FFA officers, and volunteers from across the nation, the weekend would not have been the success it was, Cruikshank said.
“We are excited to support each of these candidates as they run for National FFA office and hope their time at Oklahoma State University will be something they forever look back on as key to their FFA journey and future careers,” Cruikshank said.
Story by: Cortney Zimmerman | Cowboy Journal