September 27, 2024 • 37 mins
In this episode of the Growing Our Future podcast, host Aaron Alejandro engages with Dr. Sarah Sprayberry, an advocate for agriculture and social media influencer. They discuss the importance of family support, the journey of Sarah in agriculture, and how she uses social media to promote agricultural literacy and advocacy. The conversation emphasizes the need for a positive online presence, resilience in leadership, and the significance of sharing the true stories of agriculture to combat misconceptions.
Story Notes:
- The Importance of Family Support
- Sarah Sprayberry's Journey in Agriculture
- Advocacy Through Social Media
- Building a Positive Online Presence
- Leadership and Resilience in Agriculture
Learn more at MyTexasFFA.org
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
Welcome to the Growing Our Future podcast.
In this show, the Texas FFAFoundation will take on a
journey of exploration intoagricultural science, education,
leadership development andinsights from subject matter
experts and sponsors who providethe fuel to make dreams come
true.
Here's your host, AaronAlejandro.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
Well, good morning, good afternoon, good evening or
whenever you may be tuning in tothe Growing Our Future podcast.
Man, we're glad you're here.
I'm so excited for y'all tomeet today's guest, and we just
enjoy bringing people on thatare willing to share their time,
their talent, their treasures,their testimony, their insights,
expertise and experiences andto pour into our audience.
(00:54):
You know, like we always say,if agriculture's taught us
anything, it's taught us this Ifyou want to know what the
future is, grow it.
If you want to grow a future,you got to plant the right seeds
, and today is no different.
I was hoping that, the timethat we're doing this interview,
I was really hoping I was goingto be the first to get to say
(01:15):
ladies and gentlemen, dr SarahSprayberry.
But I understand that we'rejust on the cusp of the official
title doctor, but we do have anincredible advocate here today.
Sarah Sprayberry, thank you forjoining us.
Thank you for having me.
Speaker 3 (01:33):
I'm so excited.
Speaker 2 (01:35):
Well, I'm going to tell you a little bit more about
Sarah and how I discovered herhere in a second and why I
wanted to bring her onto theshow and talk about some things.
But first, you know, sarah, westart off every episode, every
episode of Growing Our Future,with a simple question, and that
is what are you grateful fortoday?
Speaker 3 (01:56):
I love that question as we are on the cusp of
reaching that doctorate degree.
I've been very reflectivelately and I'm just so grateful
that I have the familial supportthat have gotten me to this
point.
It's been a decade of being inschool and that takes a lot of
support from those people wholove me most, so I'm very
grateful for them.
Speaker 2 (02:17):
Pretty cool when you think about it.
Speaker 3 (02:18):
It is, and not everybody gets to experience it,
unfortunately.
Speaker 2 (02:23):
Well, it's funny that you said that.
So I actually took a picture.
I've got a picture it's on mysocial media pages of my family
and I shared it with my kids oneday and I said I know I'm going
to sound a little bit sappy Isaid, but I want y'all to look
at that picture.
And I said, because this is ourfamily and I said you've got to
(02:47):
understand that the reason itmeans so much to me is I didn't
grow up with that, and so whenyou hear people that share that
appreciation, I appreciate thefact that you appreciate your
family and obviously they arehappy and I guarantee you, sarah
I know, you know this they'reproud of you, yeah, and because
they know how hard you've workedto get to where you're at and
(03:09):
this journey that you're on,that you're going to continue to
do great things.
So thank you for sharing that,of course.
Okay.
So years ago I remember therewas this thing called MySpace
and I started getting involvedbecause I thought, well, this is
kind of a neat little tool andthen, all of a sudden, this
(03:29):
thing called Facebook comesalong, became a new twist on the
old tool, if you will,absolutely.
And as I became involved in theFFA and the foundation and my
work with Texas Team Ag Ed, Iwas actually the one that set up
the original Facebook pages forthe FFA, the Ag Teachers
Association and all of them, andI told them I said this is a
(03:52):
communication tool that's coming, okay.
And years ago, sarah, theywould tell people that you need
to have a website.
Okay, so years ago we would sayyou've got to have a website,
that you need to have a website,okay.
So years ago we would sayyou've got to have a website.
Today, you can't just have awebsite Today you have to have a
(04:13):
web presence.
Oh yeah, you have to have apresence across the web.
It could be a website, it canbe your social media, it could
be a blog, it could be thepodcast, but you really there's
so much transfer of informationthat you want to try to do what
you can to create a web presence.
And early on in my role at theTexas FFA Foundation, I've
(04:37):
always been a strong advocatefor agriculture.
People that know me know that'sone of my projects is how do we
advocate for agriculture?
How do we promote our farmersand ranchers and the people that
take care of our naturalresources and help feed the
world?
And so I've always been anadvocate for agriculture.
I've always tried to offerworkshops on training people how
(05:00):
to engage with these tools.
But obviously I'm out therewatching to engage with these
tools, but obviously I'm outthere watching.
So I'm watching people onLinkedIn, I'm watching people on
Facebook, on Instagram, on X orTwitter or TikTok, and one day
I'm scrolling through and I sawone of the funniest videos that
(05:23):
I have ever seen and here isthis young lady doing a TikTok
video dance to stock shows andhow people show animals at stock
shows.
And I am rolling and I'msitting there going.
What a tool.
This young lady is taking thistopic that so many of us are
(05:47):
familiar with.
She's put it in a format thatengages an audience that wants
to have fun, that's stillinterested in learning.
And lo and behold, I startfollowing Sarah Sprayberry, the
blooming advocate.
I start following SarahSprayberry, the blooming
advocate, and I just one day Ithought you know, I've had the
(06:08):
farm babe, michelle Miller, onhere.
I've been fortunate to have DrTemple Brandon I've had people
on that, I think representadvocates for agriculture.
And, sarah, I just want you toknow that, while you do it in a
fun format, I want to say thankyou, because we need people that
(06:30):
are willing to step out thereand do that.
So why don't you take a momenthere?
Because I would like for you totake us on your journey.
So take us through your.
You know where you're from.
You know your school, schoolexperience to your college
experience, to what led you towant to do this advocacy on this
(06:50):
platform.
Speaker 3 (06:51):
Absolutely I would love to.
So I'm born and raised inBerning, texas, so deep in the
hill country, and like manyother people, I did the FFA, I
did 4-H, I showed hogs and sothat led me to do animal science
at Texas A&M because I think,like many other youth, I was
like I'm going to be aveterinarian.
And then I got to college and Iwas like no, I'm not side of
(07:26):
things.
So I really wanted to be withthe farmers as well as the
consumers.
So I got knee deep intoextension education as well as
research, which are two of mybig passions.
So I was on the judging teamand with that I really got into
doing youth development andteaching kids about horses as
well as judging.
And then that led me eventuallydown the line to getting my
master's in swine nutrition, somaking people's bacon, as I
(07:48):
always told people and then thatled me into my first like true
extension job with Texas YouthLivestock and Agriculture and so
that's kind of what spurred thesocial media side of things is
I got to do social media forthem and I really was just.
I got to do social media forthem and I really was just.
(08:09):
It was eyeopening to see howmany people engaged in that, but
then also were like, so likedid not understand what it was.
Like they would see thelivestock shows that we would
post and they'd be like, why arethey whipping that pig?
Like, why are they beingaggressive?
And so I was like whoa, and sothat's kind of like hit the
light bulb in me.
I was like we got to do better.
I think sometimesagriculturalists, we go on the
defensive end, as I like to saywith my football reference.
(08:32):
We don't often take offense,and so I think we need to be
better on the offense by justconstantly producing educational
materials on social mediaplatforms to reach consumers so
that they understand like wereally are.
Like farmers are the firstconservationists and they are in
the front line and they are theones who care about the animals
(08:52):
first.
Listen, they if you have a deadanimal, they're not making
money right, so like they haveto put animals first.
They are the ones at 4 ambreaking ice so that their
cattle can get water, and so Ithink it's important that on
social media, we can connectpeople to those farmers and
understand that there's so manymisconceptions and just really
(09:13):
get the truth out there for themwell, I appreciate the fact
that you're doing that, and soyou've probably crossed paths
with dr bill Billy Zanellini.
Yes, he was my boss.
Speaker 2 (09:27):
So Dr Zanellini and Dr Chris Bowman and I, we used
to do a lot of along with GeneHall when he was at the Texas
Farm Bureau.
We used to do a lot of agadvocacy workshops.
One of the things that I liketo talk about and I've shared
this with Sarah before is andyou alluded to this, sarah, by
the way, this with Sarah beforeis, and you alluded to this,
(09:48):
sarah, by the way there's athing that we sometimes fail to
recognize when we're promotingon social media, and that's
emotional intelligence.
And when you think about thestatistics, I think it's 93% of
Americans.
Now let that sink in for asecond.
That's a pretty high number.
93% of Americans see a cat or adog every single day, every
(10:10):
single day.
So if you just do a simple websearch, google, whatever your
platform is if you just do asimple search of cats or dogs,
look at what imagery's pop up.
It's, you know, hold and fluffy, pet and fee-fee.
You know it's the emotionalintelligence is very loving,
caring.
And then, in the world ofproduction, agriculture, of
(10:34):
farming and ranching and animalagriculture, we sometimes don't
post anything until we get tothe stock show, right.
So all of a sudden, when youstart looking at our images, it
goes back to what you said.
It's an image of oh well, whyare they whipping that pig?
Why are they strangling thatsteer and poking it with a stick
(10:55):
?
Exactly why are they chokingthat goat?
And, oh my gosh, they'reholding those turkeys upside
down.
Yes, you know, but anybody thatknows the care that that
student put into that animal,they would be blown away Exactly
.
But what I appreciate and I'veshared this with Sarah before
what I appreciate about whatSarah's doing and we hope to
(11:17):
encourage other advocates islet's tell this incredible story
of food.
People sometimes don'tunderstand the word agriculture,
but everybody understands theword food and it's a chance for
us to help people understandwhere that comes from.
And so, sarah, take us throughwhy you've chosen this platform.
(11:42):
How do you pick your topics ofwhat you want to share?
That's I'm really intrigued by.
How do you?
Just what is it that spurs athought that you say this would
be fun to do?
Take us through that.
Speaker 3 (11:57):
So I think a lot of it also stems from my PhD
research is ag literacy in youth, and so things that I've
actually heard you say, thatI've worked with, that they
thought was true, have spurred alot of my tech talks, but also
things that, like people willjust comment and say I'm like,
oh man, that is like no.
I believe that, like you know,cattle are ruining the planet,
(12:18):
agriculture is killing theplanet, all these things, and so
I take that and often I thinkwhen people see that on social
media, they'll share it andthey'll say this is not true.
However, they're not thinkingthat when you share it, you're
helping their initiative and notagriculture.
So for me, I read that commentand I go we're going to make a
TikTok about it and then I'mgoing to do the facts and do it
(12:39):
in like an engaging, fun way.
I think sometimes it gets alittle intimidating, especially
somebody who's never interactedwith agriculture if they see
some like jarring things, but ifit's very relatable and you
know, just dance and being silly, they're like, okay, I can like
relate with this girl.
And then they see those factsand they're like, okay, and like
some people have even messagedme and they're like you made me
(13:00):
like want to go and likeresearch more to really
understand agriculture ingeneral.
I'm like that's good.
That's what we should be doingis just having an open
conversation about what it isand the industry, and then you
can make your informed decisionsby having the facts.
Speaker 2 (13:18):
Well, that's good.
So your strategy sometimescomes from just conversations.
Speaker 3 (13:25):
Oh yeah, a lot of conversation.
I also look up.
I've done this several times.
Is I look up like myths aboutagriculture?
I'll just Google it myself, orsometimes I'll even look to see,
like what PETA has like justrecently put out, so that I can
try to put something else outthere that has the true
narrative of what's happening inagriculture.
Speaker 2 (13:45):
So Sarah said something a minute ago and I
want to make sure that we sharethis with the audience because
this is good stuff.
It's real easy to see somethingthat we find offensive, that we
grow up in a world of food andagricultural production, whether
it be plant or animalproduction and we see something
that we don't like and so weimmediately want to challenge it
(14:06):
.
And the unfortunately with thealgorithms and the way
technology works, if we're notcareful in challenging it, we
actually promote it absolutelyand I kind of go back to what I
was saying about emotionalintelligence is that we've got
to take charge of the message,as you have said, and start
(14:27):
sharing the positive of what wedo.
I've not posted this yet, but afriend of mine years ago his
youngest son, told me a story.
It was about the day there was ablizzard and a snowstorm and
ice in east texas and their cowswere calving and they were
(14:47):
driving around on theirfour-wheeler going around
checking on the cows and theysaw a little nose sticking out
of the water at the tank andthey rush over, jump in the
frigid water and pull a babycalf that had just been born out
.
That was just barely hanging on, and what do they do?
(15:07):
They immediately, they all taketheir jackets off.
They wrap this baby, thisnewborn, in their jackets.
They let the cow come on overto see her baby and then they
very slowly drove that calf tothe barn.
They took the calf inside, theygot it into hay, they got it
(15:29):
where it was warm, the mom, andthey nurtured that animal.
Speaker 3 (15:33):
Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (15:36):
And I think sometimes we don't always share those
stories.
And those are the stories.
As the development officer forTeam Ag Ed, I've been doing this
for 24 years and we've raisedmillions, of dollars, millions.
And they say, aaron, how havey'all raised those monies?
And I tell them a very similarstory is I remember when I was
(15:58):
growing up at Boys Ranch and mydorm parent, mr Chandler, gave
me a sledgehammer.
He told me to drive to theother side of the ranch and bust
the water trough for the horses.
It was five miles, it was in asnowstorm, five miles.
It was in a snowstorm.
And I remember driving overthere and, and mr chandler and
his old country wisdom, he justsaid, darling, do you get
(16:20):
thirsty when it's cold?
And I said, yes, sir.
He said, don't you think thosehorses get thirsty too?
yeah yes, sir.
So I drove over there and Ibusted the water trough for the
horses and companies that havenothing to do with agriculture,
people that did not grow up inFFA or agriculture, like you or
I did, sarah.
I always tell them, I said, thething that separates our kids
(16:44):
from everybody else is that inthe world of agriculture, if we
don't do our job, something doessomething does yeah.
Think about that and what anincredible intrinsic value
system.
Speaker 3 (16:58):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (16:59):
That we're putting in young people to know that what
they do is important.
Look at you.
I mean you're a great exampleof that.
I mean I'm proud of what you'vedone, I'm proud of where you're
going, I'm proud of thisincredible voice that you're
sharing on technology platforms.
But it's because somewherealong the way, you got something
(17:19):
instilled in you that yourfellow man depends on you.
The things in your care,depending the natural resources,
depend on you, and you've takenit seriously yeah is that fair
to say absolutely?
yeah so let's talk about this,because I'm hoping that you can
(17:45):
inspire which I know you willsomebody else that may decide.
I want to go online and I wantto be positive about decide.
I want to go online and I wantto be positive about agriculture
and food production.
And if you were going to givesome ag students tips on being
online and sharing positivemessages, what would those tips
(18:05):
be?
What would you tell them?
Speaker 3 (18:08):
So this actually makes me go back to.
I was just at a conference forag educators and they were
talking about NIL.
I'm a big sports girl, so yourname, image and likeness that we
see with these athletes theytalked about it with your
department, but I thought aboutit in the way of agriculture.
What I would say to youth isyou have to remember that your
name, image and likeness isconnected to the ag industry.
(18:30):
You are probably maybe the oneperson that is going to interact
with agriculture, so one personwho's never experienced
agriculture and then you are theperson that they are going to
do.
So you need to make sure thatyour name, image and likeness is
representing agriculture well,so you want it to be a positive
interaction.
You don't want to be negative.
(18:51):
We don't want to put them downfor not understanding something
Because listen, I mean, noteverybody gets the beautiful
opportunity of being an FFA andreally interacting with our
industry.
That is so wonderful, and so Ithink when we're online
sometimes we tend to make fun ofpeople who don't understand
things.
But what.
I've learned is that when youcome at a level head and you
(19:13):
just really try to make itengaging and fun and positive,
that people are going to be moreswayed to understand or listen
to your side of things.
Speaker 2 (19:24):
Wow, okay.
So I want every listener I knowevery listener knows this
because you hear us talk aboutalmost every podcast be a
lifelong learner.
Yeah, don't ever quit learning.
Go back to agriculture.
I always tell people, whenyou're green you grow, when
you're ripe, you're ripe.
So don't quit growing, justalways be listening.
(19:46):
And Sarah just gave mesomething I'd never heard before
.
So I'm learning today.
I love it.
Sarah shared N-I-L yeah Name,image and likeness and everybody
that knows me, sarah, on socialmedia platforms knows that one
of my handles most people knowme by my handle Live your Brand.
Speaker 1 (20:05):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (20:06):
And so what I tell young people is that what you
share, what you comment on, whatyou engage in, that becomes
your brand, and when peoplestart looking at you for a job
or people are starting to scrubyour character or who you are,
they're going to look at thatplatform and they're going to
say what are you an expert in?
(20:27):
And so I like to tell youngpeople that what you share like
comment on, shows me the threeareas that you're an expert, and
I don't know if you know thestory or not, but I'll share it
very quickly.
But where Live your Brand camefrom is.
There was a young man fromJacksboro, texas, named Johnny
Callen, and Johnny Callen was aFord leadership scholar and
(20:52):
Johnny Callum is one of thesharpest young men I think I've
ever met and he unfortunatelydied in a tragic automobile
accident on a way to a stockshow, and executives from Ford
Motor Company, people from allover the country, came to
Johnny's funeral.
I was actually keynoting aspeech out in Las Vegas and I
(21:15):
remember, in front of an emptyroom full of chairs, I talked
about Johnny Callen and I said,if you pulled up that
17-year-old boy's social media,he always talked about FFA,
agriculture and leadership, andI said Johnny Callen was an
(21:35):
example of how to live yourbrand, and so from that point on
, I just said it's time to starttalking about live your brand.
Speaker 3 (21:44):
Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (21:45):
So the live, your brand icon, came from the legacy
of Johnny Callen.
So Sarah is an example of that.
If you follow Sarah on hersocial media, it's not going to
take you long.
Number one she's got a sense ofhumor.
Number two, she's got a passionfor all things agriculture, and
(22:09):
she also wants to be helpful,and all that comes out in what
you share, sarah.
So I think it's important, likeyou said, for young people to
know that on your platforms.
I mean, you know, think aboutit, and I think you would agree
with me if we, if you and I,could go sit down with every
eighth grader, every middleschool eighth grader, and say
(22:32):
listen, you're fixing to go intohigh school.
Do me a favor, find threethings that you really want to
be good at, three things thatyou really care about, and for
the next four years, share a lotof stuff about those three
things.
And then, when you go tocollege, I want you to do the
same thing.
I want you to find those threethings and I want you to share
(22:53):
as much as you can about thosethree things.
Would you agree that when theyget ready to look for a job,
they're ready yeah.
Pretty easy, don't you think?
Speaker 3 (23:03):
Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (23:05):
Why do you think it would be easy?
Speaker 3 (23:08):
Well, I mean, I'll say from personal experience
that I'm looking for facultypositions right now and I
guarantee they have looked at myTikToks and so when they look
at that, they do see that I meanI present myself as an ag
literacy person in youthdevelopment and so when they're
actually looking at social media, like oh, she actually is
living out what she says, thatshe is.
So it's just shows and it'skind of an artifact to be like,
(23:30):
yeah, no, she really stands byher word, because actions speak
louder than words and we knowthat.
And so an action on socialmedia definitely says a lot
about you.
Speaker 2 (23:39):
Wow, that's good, yeah, yeah.
So I hope that young peoplehear this.
That it's this is a keytakeaway is that you know
another way of putting it.
That I sometimes put, like if Iwere talking to your FFA class
back in the day at Bernie, is Iwould always ask them.
I said, tell me about yourbusiness.
And they all look at me puzzledand they say, well, mr
(24:02):
Alejandro, I don't have abusiness.
I said, yeah, you do, you're it?
Do you get to work on time,customer service, friendly?
Can you communicate well?
Do you get along with otherpeers?
You see, I think to your pointwhat you were saying.
Your your nil, your name imagelikeness that, that's it is so
(24:25):
not only are you living yourpersonal brand, but hopefully,
maybe somewhere along the way,whether it's agriculture or the
company that you work for, maybeyou find something that spurs
your passion to say I want toshare more about this.
Just you, you've becomepassionate about sharing for
agriculture.
Speaker 3 (24:44):
Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (24:46):
What are some of the challenges that you've found in
communicating and challengesthat you've found in advocating
challenges that you've found inadvocating that's a fantastic
question.
Speaker 3 (24:58):
I think, regardless of what you do, you're always
going to find somebody that'sgoing to want to put you down
and somebody that is going toyou know, people are very
confident when they're behind ascreen, right, and so they
really going to be thosekeyboard warriors that are going
to come for you.
And people have really going tobe those keyboard warriors that
are going to come for you.
And people have told me that,like you're like wow, your PhD
must not mean anything becauseyou don't know anything, and I'm
(25:19):
like, oh, wow, that's so that'sa heavy thing, and so I mean
that's going to happen in life.
I mean, regardless on socialmedia, it's going to happen in
real life and I think it'simportant that you don't let
that get you down and you justhave grit and just keep going
and know that what you'repassionate about is important,
and take that and just keeprunning with it.
(25:40):
I mean you can't let the hatersget you.
And that's probably the biggestthing that I've had to overcome
on social media is because,especially as you continue to
get followers, you also continueto get to more views and then
more people see it and then Iget more negative comments
that's awesome.
Speaker 2 (26:01):
That's really good.
Um, I like what you said.
I a lot of times people hear metalk about the three r's yeah
and I had people tell me that toput this country back on track,
we need to get back to thebasics.
You know reading, writing andarithmetic and I'm like you know
, before I took the foundationjob, I used to work in a boot
(26:21):
camp.
I worked with true andoffenders and I worked in a
prison and everybody that Iworked with could read, write
and do math at a functionallevel.
I said but you're right aboutthe three R's, but I believe the
three R's are respect,responsibility and resiliency,
and I think that holds true onsocial media.
I think it holds true in ourfamilies and our communities and
(26:44):
our life.
We can disagree with somebody,but you can still be respectful.
You can take responsibility foryour own actions.
Yeah, you can also be resilient,but absolutely I love it, have
a grit it, have some grit it.
Yes, you know god, god did notcreate failures, god did not
(27:09):
create flops.
He created us all for greatness, just by design alone.
You have everything to standfirm on and you know people can
disagree, and but do it in a waythat's respectful and you don't
.
You don't have to be hateful ormean and being disagreeable.
(27:31):
Agree, say that again yeah let'stalk about leadership for a
minute, because we're plantingseeds, right.
So let's talk about leadership.
You're, you're about to getyour phd, you're working your
way through.
You're going to have anincredible career.
You're going to have aninfluence.
(27:52):
You know one of the statementsthat I like to share and I need
to make sure you hear thisbecause this is you.
The essence of leadership is toplant trees under whose shade
you may never sit.
You have no idea the impactthat you're having on other
people's lives and how.
What you do, sarah, could bethat you know you might inspire
(28:15):
my granddaughter's mentor oneday.
You know you may be the onethat gives information to my
grandson's president one day,you never know.
So the essence of leadership isto plant trees under whose
shade we may never set.
If you were also having theopportunity to talk to kids,
(28:37):
what would be some leadershiptips you would give them in
terms of you know, if you wantto be a better leader, do these
things.
What would you say?
Speaker 3 (28:45):
I think the first one would be kind of, what you were
talking about is kindness,because I know that in academia,
often when people kind of getup in the ranks and they start
to get to tenure, they kind ofsaying if I can impact one
person, that person stillmatters right, because we don't
(29:11):
know where that person's goingto go and they could impact even
more people.
And so I think that is probablystep one is just always be
humble, stay humble, stay kind.
And then another one isadaptability.
I think, especially in thisworld today, you have to learn
how to be adaptable and be ableto take those hits and just keep
(29:31):
rolling with it and be able to,even if somebody tells you no,
adapt and pump yourself up andthen go again and that kind of
goes back with.
That.
Grit is just, somebody may tellyou no, but somebody may also
tell you yes, and you just haveto keep going and just try to
strive.
And if you have that passion,you just got to follow it.
Speaker 2 (29:53):
Making notes.
That's good.
If you have not already read it, I'm going to recommend a book
for you.
Yeah, so one of my boardmembers.
There was a late, greatmotivational speaker named Zig
Ziglar, and Zig Ziglar wasfamous.
I mean, he's one of the world'smost famous motivational
speakers.
(30:13):
His son, Tom Ziglar, is on theFoundation Board of Directors,
and so Tom and I have a lot ofconversations and he wrote a
book that hit coming right outof COVID, called Ten Leadership
Virtues for Disruptive Times ofCOVID called 10 Leadership
Virtues for Disruptive Times 10Leadership Virtues and kindness
(30:35):
is one of those, by the way andhe bases leadership on virtues
and when you put virtues inplace in your life, they come
out in the way that you lead.
They become empathetic when theyneed to be empathetic.
They become coachable when theyneed to be empathetic.
They become coachable when theyneed to become coachable.
They're kind when they need tobe kind, they're humble.
So you said something there.
(30:56):
I just wanted to share thatwith you because that was really
good.
He also says this you know wetalk a lot about like.
A lot of times when I talk tobusinesses and organizations, I
ask them I said did anybody seeCOVID coming?
Speaker 1 (31:10):
No, we didn't.
Speaker 2 (31:12):
So what do we do?
We expect the best, we preparefor the worst, but we capitalize
on whatever comes.
I like that.
That's what Ziegler said.
He said you expect the best,prepare for the worst, but
capitalize on whatever comes.
And so I love when you said beadaptable.
And so I'm going to show youhow timeless that is.
(31:33):
Anybody that will go back intime and find any of my old ICEV
videos, all the way back intothe 80s you will find that one
of the three tips that I giveyoung people is to be adaptable.
If there's one thing that wecan count on is there's going to
be more disruption coming.
(31:54):
Disruption is not going away.
There is more disruption coming.
We're going to have to getcomfortable being uncomfortable.
Speaker 3 (32:02):
Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (32:04):
And through that uncomfortableness we're going to
pick up Sarah's wisdom rightthere.
It's going to be uncomfortable,but we're still going to be
kind.
We're going to be uncomfortable, but we're going to learn to
adapt.
We're going to be uncomfortable, but we're going to remain
positive and look for the best.
We're going to be uncomfortable, but we're still going to stay
(32:25):
focused on our goals.
That target that beckons.
We're still going to pushforward.
This lady right here is a greatexample of it.
So you lived through the COVIDyears.
You push through your dream yourtarget and through that process
(32:46):
you've practiced these thingsand they show which is why
you've got this branding thatyou have.
Speaker 3 (32:53):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (32:54):
So well, sarah, I just want to say thank you for
taking time.
Do you happen to know she'sbeen a guest on this show?
By the way, do you happen toknow Madeline Bar?
I don't she's from bernie isshe really?
Speaker 3 (33:12):
I should look her up madeline um.
Speaker 2 (33:16):
She sold a pig at the county stock show for, I think,
thirty thousand dollars yeahand then she turned around and
donated it all to saint jude'schildren's hospital that's
amazing.
And she herself was a childwith cancer and they cured her.
Speaker 3 (33:34):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (33:36):
And through FFA and through her project.
She said I want to helpsomebody else.
Speaker 3 (33:40):
I love that, so I've had two guests from Barney Texas
.
Speaker 2 (33:44):
On the Growing Our Future podcast.
Speaker 3 (33:46):
They raised some good kids.
Speaker 2 (33:48):
Let's do something right, madeline.
Thank you, hey.
By the way, before you leave,we always like to have one last
fun final question.
I'm just curious what is thebest concert you've ever been to
?
Speaker 3 (34:04):
oh, that's gonna be hard.
Speaker 2 (34:06):
I feel like you're gonna judge me I'm talking to a
social media influencer who'sputting content out all the time
and she's afraid I'm about tojudge her.
That was the most classiccomment of this entire interview
.
Go ahead, sarah.
What's the best concert you'veever?
Speaker 3 (34:27):
been well.
I'm a swifty, so it's gonnahave to be the taylor swift
concert.
I know really, yeah, which one.
So I went back in like the ogdays.
So when I was 15 I went in sanantonio and that was probably
one of the best experiences.
I went with my mama so I thinkthat's great by the way memories
(34:51):
um.
Speaker 2 (34:53):
So everybody that knows me knows I am a diehard,
diehard bruce springsteen andjimmy buffett fan oh so I'm
diehard bruce jimmy yeah and soI had a friend of mine who was
helping me understand the, thegenre of swifties of taylor
(35:18):
swift.
And he told me, and all he hadto say was this he said aaron
taylor is the bruce springsteenof this generation.
And when.
I know how big Bruce Springsteenis, and then I see how big
Taylor is.
Even though it may be adifferent genre of music for me,
(35:38):
I appreciate it out of respectfor the talent.
Speaker 3 (35:42):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (35:43):
So I think that's great, by the way.
So I can only assume you watchthe Super Bowl.
Speaker 3 (35:49):
Well, yeah, of course I did.
Speaker 2 (35:55):
That's great.
Ladies and gentlemen, thank youfor joining us for another
episode of the Growing OurFuture podcast.
We appreciate you stopping byand we appreciate Sarah.
Sarah, thank you, sarah, thankyou, yeah, thank you Coming on
and sharing with us and kind ofgiving us an example of what
(36:17):
it's like to get out there andshare your brand and your NIL
and how you can use that topromote where our food comes
from, and we just appreciate youfor taking some time to come on
and share that and we wish youthe best.
I hope that the next time wetalk you'll officially be Dr
Sprayberry.
Speaker 3 (36:38):
Yep.
Speaker 2 (36:40):
And that we all get a front row seat to your career,
because I suspect you're goingto plant some incredible trees.
Speaker 3 (36:46):
Thank you Appreciate that.
Speaker 2 (36:48):
So, until our paths all cross again, everybody
remember, if you want to knowwhat the future is, grow it.
That means you got to plant theright seeds, you've got to take
care of those seeds and thenone day, god will bless you with
the harvest.
And when you get that harvest,we want you to share it with
others.
So until we meet again,everybody, go out and do
(37:08):
something special and great forsomebody else.
You're going to feel betterabout it and when you do, our
homes, our community, our stateand country will be a better
place to live, work and raiseour families.
Everybody take care.
Speaker 1 (37:27):
We hope you've enjoyed this episode of the
Growing Our Future podcast.
This show is sponsored by theTexas FFA Foundation, whose
mission is to strengthenagricultural science education
so students can develop theirpotential for personal growth,
career success and leadership ina global marketplace.
Learn more at mytexasffaorg.
Welcome to the Growing Our Future podcast.
In this show, the Texas FFAFoundation will take on a
journey of exploration intoagricultural science, education,
leadership development andinsights from subject matter
experts and sponsors who providethe fuel to make dreams come
true.
Here's your host, AaronAlejandro.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
Well, good morning, good afternoon, good evening or
whenever you may be tuning in tothe Growing Our Future podcast.
Man, we're glad you're here.
I'm so excited for y'all tomeet today's guest, and we just
enjoy bringing people on thatare willing to share their time,
their talent, their treasures,their testimony, their insights,
expertise and experiences andto pour into our audience.
(00:54):
You know, like we always say,if agriculture's taught us
anything, it's taught us this Ifyou want to know what the
future is, grow it.
If you want to grow a future,you got to plant the right seeds
, and today is no different.
I was hoping that, the timethat we're doing this interview,
I was really hoping I was goingto be the first to get to say
(01:15):
ladies and gentlemen, dr SarahSprayberry.
But I understand that we'rejust on the cusp of the official
title doctor, but we do have anincredible advocate here today.
Sarah Sprayberry, thank you forjoining us.
Thank you for having me.
Speaker 3 (01:33):
I'm so excited.
Speaker 2 (01:35):
Well, I'm going to tell you a little bit more about
Sarah and how I discovered herhere in a second and why I
wanted to bring her onto theshow and talk about some things.
But first, you know, sarah, westart off every episode, every
episode of Growing Our Future,with a simple question, and that
is what are you grateful fortoday?
Speaker 3 (01:56):
I love that question as we are on the cusp of
reaching that doctorate degree.
I've been very reflectivelately and I'm just so grateful
that I have the familial supportthat have gotten me to this
point.
It's been a decade of being inschool and that takes a lot of
support from those people wholove me most, so I'm very
grateful for them.
Speaker 2 (02:17):
Pretty cool when you think about it.
Speaker 3 (02:18):
It is, and not everybody gets to experience it,
unfortunately.
Speaker 2 (02:23):
Well, it's funny that you said that.
So I actually took a picture.
I've got a picture it's on mysocial media pages of my family
and I shared it with my kids oneday and I said I know I'm going
to sound a little bit sappy Isaid, but I want y'all to look
at that picture.
And I said, because this is ourfamily and I said you've got to
(02:47):
understand that the reason itmeans so much to me is I didn't
grow up with that, and so whenyou hear people that share that
appreciation, I appreciate thefact that you appreciate your
family and obviously they arehappy and I guarantee you, sarah
I know, you know this they'reproud of you, yeah, and because
they know how hard you've workedto get to where you're at and
(03:09):
this journey that you're on,that you're going to continue to
do great things.
So thank you for sharing that,of course.
Okay.
So years ago I remember therewas this thing called MySpace
and I started getting involvedbecause I thought, well, this is
kind of a neat little tool andthen, all of a sudden, this
(03:29):
thing called Facebook comesalong, became a new twist on the
old tool, if you will,absolutely.
And as I became involved in theFFA and the foundation and my
work with Texas Team Ag Ed, Iwas actually the one that set up
the original Facebook pages forthe FFA, the Ag Teachers
Association and all of them, andI told them I said this is a
(03:52):
communication tool that's coming, okay.
And years ago, sarah, theywould tell people that you need
to have a website.
Okay, so years ago we would sayyou've got to have a website,
that you need to have a website,okay.
So years ago we would sayyou've got to have a website.
Today, you can't just have awebsite Today you have to have a
(04:13):
web presence.
Oh yeah, you have to have apresence across the web.
It could be a website, it canbe your social media, it could
be a blog, it could be thepodcast, but you really there's
so much transfer of informationthat you want to try to do what
you can to create a web presence.
And early on in my role at theTexas FFA Foundation, I've
(04:37):
always been a strong advocatefor agriculture.
People that know me know that'sone of my projects is how do we
advocate for agriculture?
How do we promote our farmersand ranchers and the people that
take care of our naturalresources and help feed the
world?
And so I've always been anadvocate for agriculture.
I've always tried to offerworkshops on training people how
(05:00):
to engage with these tools.
But obviously I'm out therewatching to engage with these
tools, but obviously I'm outthere watching.
So I'm watching people onLinkedIn, I'm watching people on
Facebook, on Instagram, on X orTwitter or TikTok, and one day
I'm scrolling through and I sawone of the funniest videos that
(05:23):
I have ever seen and here isthis young lady doing a TikTok
video dance to stock shows andhow people show animals at stock
shows.
And I am rolling and I'msitting there going.
What a tool.
This young lady is taking thistopic that so many of us are
(05:47):
familiar with.
She's put it in a format thatengages an audience that wants
to have fun, that's stillinterested in learning.
And lo and behold, I startfollowing Sarah Sprayberry, the
blooming advocate.
I start following SarahSprayberry, the blooming
advocate, and I just one day Ithought you know, I've had the
(06:08):
farm babe, michelle Miller, onhere.
I've been fortunate to have DrTemple Brandon I've had people
on that, I think representadvocates for agriculture.
And, sarah, I just want you toknow that, while you do it in a
fun format, I want to say thankyou, because we need people that
(06:30):
are willing to step out thereand do that.
So why don't you take a momenthere?
Because I would like for you totake us on your journey.
So take us through your.
You know where you're from.
You know your school, schoolexperience to your college
experience, to what led you towant to do this advocacy on this
(06:50):
platform.
Speaker 3 (06:51):
Absolutely I would love to.
So I'm born and raised inBerning, texas, so deep in the
hill country, and like manyother people, I did the FFA, I
did 4-H, I showed hogs and sothat led me to do animal science
at Texas A&M because I think,like many other youth, I was
like I'm going to be aveterinarian.
And then I got to college and Iwas like no, I'm not side of
(07:26):
things.
So I really wanted to be withthe farmers as well as the
consumers.
So I got knee deep intoextension education as well as
research, which are two of mybig passions.
So I was on the judging teamand with that I really got into
doing youth development andteaching kids about horses as
well as judging.
And then that led me eventuallydown the line to getting my
master's in swine nutrition, somaking people's bacon, as I
(07:48):
always told people and then thatled me into my first like true
extension job with Texas YouthLivestock and Agriculture and so
that's kind of what spurred thesocial media side of things is
I got to do social media forthem and I really was just.
I got to do social media forthem and I really was just.
(08:09):
It was eyeopening to see howmany people engaged in that, but
then also were like, so likedid not understand what it was.
Like they would see thelivestock shows that we would
post and they'd be like, why arethey whipping that pig?
Like, why are they beingaggressive?
And so I was like whoa, and sothat's kind of like hit the
light bulb in me.
I was like we got to do better.
I think sometimesagriculturalists, we go on the
defensive end, as I like to saywith my football reference.
(08:32):
We don't often take offense,and so I think we need to be
better on the offense by justconstantly producing educational
materials on social mediaplatforms to reach consumers so
that they understand like wereally are.
Like farmers are the firstconservationists and they are in
the front line and they are theones who care about the animals
(08:52):
first.
Listen, they if you have a deadanimal, they're not making
money right, so like they haveto put animals first.
They are the ones at 4 ambreaking ice so that their
cattle can get water, and so Ithink it's important that on
social media, we can connectpeople to those farmers and
understand that there's so manymisconceptions and just really
(09:13):
get the truth out there for themwell, I appreciate the fact
that you're doing that, and soyou've probably crossed paths
with dr bill Billy Zanellini.
Yes, he was my boss.
Speaker 2 (09:27):
So Dr Zanellini and Dr Chris Bowman and I, we used
to do a lot of along with GeneHall when he was at the Texas
Farm Bureau.
We used to do a lot of agadvocacy workshops.
One of the things that I liketo talk about and I've shared
this with Sarah before is andyou alluded to this, sarah, by
the way, this with Sarah beforeis, and you alluded to this,
(09:48):
sarah, by the way there's athing that we sometimes fail to
recognize when we're promotingon social media, and that's
emotional intelligence.
And when you think about thestatistics, I think it's 93% of
Americans.
Now let that sink in for asecond.
That's a pretty high number.
93% of Americans see a cat or adog every single day, every
(10:10):
single day.
So if you just do a simple websearch, google, whatever your
platform is if you just do asimple search of cats or dogs,
look at what imagery's pop up.
It's, you know, hold and fluffy, pet and fee-fee.
You know it's the emotionalintelligence is very loving,
caring.
And then, in the world ofproduction, agriculture, of
(10:34):
farming and ranching and animalagriculture, we sometimes don't
post anything until we get tothe stock show, right.
So all of a sudden, when youstart looking at our images, it
goes back to what you said.
It's an image of oh well, whyare they whipping that pig?
Why are they strangling thatsteer and poking it with a stick
(10:55):
?
Exactly why are they chokingthat goat?
And, oh my gosh, they'reholding those turkeys upside
down.
Yes, you know, but anybody thatknows the care that that
student put into that animal,they would be blown away Exactly
.
But what I appreciate and I'veshared this with Sarah before
what I appreciate about whatSarah's doing and we hope to
(11:17):
encourage other advocates islet's tell this incredible story
of food.
People sometimes don'tunderstand the word agriculture,
but everybody understands theword food and it's a chance for
us to help people understandwhere that comes from.
And so, sarah, take us throughwhy you've chosen this platform.
(11:42):
How do you pick your topics ofwhat you want to share?
That's I'm really intrigued by.
How do you?
Just what is it that spurs athought that you say this would
be fun to do?
Take us through that.
Speaker 3 (11:57):
So I think a lot of it also stems from my PhD
research is ag literacy in youth, and so things that I've
actually heard you say, thatI've worked with, that they
thought was true, have spurred alot of my tech talks, but also
things that, like people willjust comment and say I'm like,
oh man, that is like no.
I believe that, like you know,cattle are ruining the planet,
(12:18):
agriculture is killing theplanet, all these things, and so
I take that and often I thinkwhen people see that on social
media, they'll share it andthey'll say this is not true.
However, they're not thinkingthat when you share it, you're
helping their initiative and notagriculture.
So for me, I read that commentand I go we're going to make a
TikTok about it and then I'mgoing to do the facts and do it
(12:39):
in like an engaging, fun way.
I think sometimes it gets alittle intimidating, especially
somebody who's never interactedwith agriculture if they see
some like jarring things, but ifit's very relatable and you
know, just dance and being silly, they're like, okay, I can like
relate with this girl.
And then they see those factsand they're like, okay, and like
some people have even messagedme and they're like you made me
(13:00):
like want to go and likeresearch more to really
understand agriculture ingeneral.
I'm like that's good.
That's what we should be doingis just having an open
conversation about what it isand the industry, and then you
can make your informed decisionsby having the facts.
Speaker 2 (13:18):
Well, that's good.
So your strategy sometimescomes from just conversations.
Speaker 3 (13:25):
Oh yeah, a lot of conversation.
I also look up.
I've done this several times.
Is I look up like myths aboutagriculture?
I'll just Google it myself, orsometimes I'll even look to see,
like what PETA has like justrecently put out, so that I can
try to put something else outthere that has the true
narrative of what's happening inagriculture.
Speaker 2 (13:45):
So Sarah said something a minute ago and I
want to make sure that we sharethis with the audience because
this is good stuff.
It's real easy to see somethingthat we find offensive, that we
grow up in a world of food andagricultural production, whether
it be plant or animalproduction and we see something
that we don't like and so weimmediately want to challenge it
(14:06):
.
And the unfortunately with thealgorithms and the way
technology works, if we're notcareful in challenging it, we
actually promote it absolutelyand I kind of go back to what I
was saying about emotionalintelligence is that we've got
to take charge of the message,as you have said, and start
(14:27):
sharing the positive of what wedo.
I've not posted this yet, but afriend of mine years ago his
youngest son, told me a story.
It was about the day there was ablizzard and a snowstorm and
ice in east texas and their cowswere calving and they were
(14:47):
driving around on theirfour-wheeler going around
checking on the cows and theysaw a little nose sticking out
of the water at the tank andthey rush over, jump in the
frigid water and pull a babycalf that had just been born out
.
That was just barely hanging on, and what do they do?
(15:07):
They immediately, they all taketheir jackets off.
They wrap this baby, thisnewborn, in their jackets.
They let the cow come on overto see her baby and then they
very slowly drove that calf tothe barn.
They took the calf inside, theygot it into hay, they got it
(15:29):
where it was warm, the mom, andthey nurtured that animal.
Speaker 3 (15:33):
Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (15:36):
And I think sometimes we don't always share those
stories.
And those are the stories.
As the development officer forTeam Ag Ed, I've been doing this
for 24 years and we've raisedmillions, of dollars, millions.
And they say, aaron, how havey'all raised those monies?
And I tell them a very similarstory is I remember when I was
(15:58):
growing up at Boys Ranch and mydorm parent, mr Chandler, gave
me a sledgehammer.
He told me to drive to theother side of the ranch and bust
the water trough for the horses.
It was five miles, it was in asnowstorm, five miles.
It was in a snowstorm.
And I remember driving overthere and, and mr chandler and
his old country wisdom, he justsaid, darling, do you get
(16:20):
thirsty when it's cold?
And I said, yes, sir.
He said, don't you think thosehorses get thirsty too?
yeah yes, sir.
So I drove over there and Ibusted the water trough for the
horses and companies that havenothing to do with agriculture,
people that did not grow up inFFA or agriculture, like you or
I did, sarah.
I always tell them, I said, thething that separates our kids
(16:44):
from everybody else is that inthe world of agriculture, if we
don't do our job, something doessomething does yeah.
Think about that and what anincredible intrinsic value
system.
Speaker 3 (16:58):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (16:59):
That we're putting in young people to know that what
they do is important.
Look at you.
I mean you're a great exampleof that.
I mean I'm proud of what you'vedone, I'm proud of where you're
going, I'm proud of thisincredible voice that you're
sharing on technology platforms.
But it's because somewherealong the way, you got something
(17:19):
instilled in you that yourfellow man depends on you.
The things in your care,depending the natural resources,
depend on you, and you've takenit seriously yeah is that fair
to say absolutely?
yeah so let's talk about this,because I'm hoping that you can
(17:45):
inspire which I know you willsomebody else that may decide.
I want to go online and I wantto be positive about decide.
I want to go online and I wantto be positive about agriculture
and food production.
And if you were going to givesome ag students tips on being
online and sharing positivemessages, what would those tips
(18:05):
be?
What would you tell them?
Speaker 3 (18:08):
So this actually makes me go back to.
I was just at a conference forag educators and they were
talking about NIL.
I'm a big sports girl, so yourname, image and likeness that we
see with these athletes theytalked about it with your
department, but I thought aboutit in the way of agriculture.
What I would say to youth isyou have to remember that your
name, image and likeness isconnected to the ag industry.
(18:30):
You are probably maybe the oneperson that is going to interact
with agriculture, so one personwho's never experienced
agriculture and then you are theperson that they are going to
do.
So you need to make sure thatyour name, image and likeness is
representing agriculture well,so you want it to be a positive
interaction.
You don't want to be negative.
(18:51):
We don't want to put them downfor not understanding something
Because listen, I mean, noteverybody gets the beautiful
opportunity of being an FFA andreally interacting with our
industry.
That is so wonderful, and so Ithink when we're online
sometimes we tend to make fun ofpeople who don't understand
things.
But what.
I've learned is that when youcome at a level head and you
(19:13):
just really try to make itengaging and fun and positive,
that people are going to be moreswayed to understand or listen
to your side of things.
Speaker 2 (19:24):
Wow, okay.
So I want every listener I knowevery listener knows this
because you hear us talk aboutalmost every podcast be a
lifelong learner.
Yeah, don't ever quit learning.
Go back to agriculture.
I always tell people, whenyou're green you grow, when
you're ripe, you're ripe.
So don't quit growing, justalways be listening.
(19:46):
And Sarah just gave mesomething I'd never heard before
.
So I'm learning today.
I love it.
Sarah shared N-I-L yeah Name,image and likeness and everybody
that knows me, sarah, on socialmedia platforms knows that one
of my handles most people knowme by my handle Live your Brand.
Speaker 1 (20:05):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (20:06):
And so what I tell young people is that what you
share, what you comment on, whatyou engage in, that becomes
your brand, and when peoplestart looking at you for a job
or people are starting to scrubyour character or who you are,
they're going to look at thatplatform and they're going to
say what are you an expert in?
(20:27):
And so I like to tell youngpeople that what you share like
comment on, shows me the threeareas that you're an expert, and
I don't know if you know thestory or not, but I'll share it
very quickly.
But where Live your Brand camefrom is.
There was a young man fromJacksboro, texas, named Johnny
Callen, and Johnny Callen was aFord leadership scholar and
(20:52):
Johnny Callum is one of thesharpest young men I think I've
ever met and he unfortunatelydied in a tragic automobile
accident on a way to a stockshow, and executives from Ford
Motor Company, people from allover the country, came to
Johnny's funeral.
I was actually keynoting aspeech out in Las Vegas and I
(21:15):
remember, in front of an emptyroom full of chairs, I talked
about Johnny Callen and I said,if you pulled up that
17-year-old boy's social media,he always talked about FFA,
agriculture and leadership, andI said Johnny Callen was an
(21:35):
example of how to live yourbrand, and so from that point on
, I just said it's time to starttalking about live your brand.
Speaker 3 (21:44):
Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (21:45):
So the live, your brand icon, came from the legacy
of Johnny Callen.
So Sarah is an example of that.
If you follow Sarah on hersocial media, it's not going to
take you long.
Number one she's got a sense ofhumor.
Number two, she's got a passionfor all things agriculture, and
(22:09):
she also wants to be helpful,and all that comes out in what
you share, sarah.
So I think it's important, likeyou said, for young people to
know that on your platforms.
I mean, you know, think aboutit, and I think you would agree
with me if we, if you and I,could go sit down with every
eighth grader, every middleschool eighth grader, and say
(22:32):
listen, you're fixing to go intohigh school.
Do me a favor, find threethings that you really want to
be good at, three things thatyou really care about, and for
the next four years, share a lotof stuff about those three
things.
And then, when you go tocollege, I want you to do the
same thing.
I want you to find those threethings and I want you to share
(22:53):
as much as you can about thosethree things.
Would you agree that when theyget ready to look for a job,
they're ready yeah.
Pretty easy, don't you think?
Speaker 3 (23:03):
Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (23:05):
Why do you think it would be easy?
Speaker 3 (23:08):
Well, I mean, I'll say from personal experience
that I'm looking for facultypositions right now and I
guarantee they have looked at myTikToks and so when they look
at that, they do see that I meanI present myself as an ag
literacy person in youthdevelopment and so when they're
actually looking at social media, like oh, she actually is
living out what she says, thatshe is.
So it's just shows and it'skind of an artifact to be like,
(23:30):
yeah, no, she really stands byher word, because actions speak
louder than words and we knowthat.
And so an action on socialmedia definitely says a lot
about you.
Speaker 2 (23:39):
Wow, that's good, yeah, yeah.
So I hope that young peoplehear this.
That it's this is a keytakeaway is that you know
another way of putting it.
That I sometimes put, like if Iwere talking to your FFA class
back in the day at Bernie, is Iwould always ask them.
I said, tell me about yourbusiness.
And they all look at me puzzledand they say, well, mr
(24:02):
Alejandro, I don't have abusiness.
I said, yeah, you do, you're it?
Do you get to work on time,customer service, friendly?
Can you communicate well?
Do you get along with otherpeers?
You see, I think to your pointwhat you were saying.
Your your nil, your name imagelikeness that, that's it is so
(24:25):
not only are you living yourpersonal brand, but hopefully,
maybe somewhere along the way,whether it's agriculture or the
company that you work for, maybeyou find something that spurs
your passion to say I want toshare more about this.
Just you, you've becomepassionate about sharing for
agriculture.
Speaker 3 (24:44):
Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (24:46):
What are some of the challenges that you've found in
communicating and challengesthat you've found in advocating
challenges that you've found inadvocating that's a fantastic
question.
Speaker 3 (24:58):
I think, regardless of what you do, you're always
going to find somebody that'sgoing to want to put you down
and somebody that is going toyou know, people are very
confident when they're behind ascreen, right, and so they
really going to be thosekeyboard warriors that are going
to come for you.
And people have really going tobe those keyboard warriors that
are going to come for you.
And people have told me that,like you're like wow, your PhD
must not mean anything becauseyou don't know anything, and I'm
(25:19):
like, oh, wow, that's so that'sa heavy thing, and so I mean
that's going to happen in life.
I mean, regardless on socialmedia, it's going to happen in
real life and I think it'simportant that you don't let
that get you down and you justhave grit and just keep going
and know that what you'repassionate about is important,
and take that and just keeprunning with it.
(25:40):
I mean you can't let the hatersget you.
And that's probably the biggestthing that I've had to overcome
on social media is because,especially as you continue to
get followers, you also continueto get to more views and then
more people see it and then Iget more negative comments
that's awesome.
Speaker 2 (26:01):
That's really good.
Um, I like what you said.
I a lot of times people hear metalk about the three r's yeah
and I had people tell me that toput this country back on track,
we need to get back to thebasics.
You know reading, writing andarithmetic and I'm like you know
, before I took the foundationjob, I used to work in a boot
(26:21):
camp.
I worked with true andoffenders and I worked in a
prison and everybody that Iworked with could read, write
and do math at a functionallevel.
I said but you're right aboutthe three R's, but I believe the
three R's are respect,responsibility and resiliency,
and I think that holds true onsocial media.
I think it holds true in ourfamilies and our communities and
(26:44):
our life.
We can disagree with somebody,but you can still be respectful.
You can take responsibility foryour own actions.
Yeah, you can also be resilient,but absolutely I love it, have
a grit it, have some grit it.
Yes, you know god, god did notcreate failures, god did not
(27:09):
create flops.
He created us all for greatness, just by design alone.
You have everything to standfirm on and you know people can
disagree, and but do it in a waythat's respectful and you don't
.
You don't have to be hateful ormean and being disagreeable.
(27:31):
Agree, say that again yeah let'stalk about leadership for a
minute, because we're plantingseeds, right.
So let's talk about leadership.
You're, you're about to getyour phd, you're working your
way through.
You're going to have anincredible career.
You're going to have aninfluence.
(27:52):
You know one of the statementsthat I like to share and I need
to make sure you hear thisbecause this is you.
The essence of leadership is toplant trees under whose shade
you may never sit.
You have no idea the impactthat you're having on other
people's lives and how.
What you do, sarah, could bethat you know you might inspire
(28:15):
my granddaughter's mentor oneday.
You know you may be the onethat gives information to my
grandson's president one day,you never know.
So the essence of leadership isto plant trees under whose
shade we may never set.
If you were also having theopportunity to talk to kids,
(28:37):
what would be some leadershiptips you would give them in
terms of you know, if you wantto be a better leader, do these
things.
What would you say?
Speaker 3 (28:45):
I think the first one would be kind of, what you were
talking about is kindness,because I know that in academia,
often when people kind of getup in the ranks and they start
to get to tenure, they kind ofsaying if I can impact one
person, that person stillmatters right, because we don't
(29:11):
know where that person's goingto go and they could impact even
more people.
And so I think that is probablystep one is just always be
humble, stay humble, stay kind.
And then another one isadaptability.
I think, especially in thisworld today, you have to learn
how to be adaptable and be ableto take those hits and just keep
(29:31):
rolling with it and be able to,even if somebody tells you no,
adapt and pump yourself up andthen go again and that kind of
goes back with.
That.
Grit is just, somebody may tellyou no, but somebody may also
tell you yes, and you just haveto keep going and just try to
strive.
And if you have that passion,you just got to follow it.
Speaker 2 (29:53):
Making notes.
That's good.
If you have not already read it, I'm going to recommend a book
for you.
Yeah, so one of my boardmembers.
There was a late, greatmotivational speaker named Zig
Ziglar, and Zig Ziglar wasfamous.
I mean, he's one of the world'smost famous motivational
speakers.
(30:13):
His son, Tom Ziglar, is on theFoundation Board of Directors,
and so Tom and I have a lot ofconversations and he wrote a
book that hit coming right outof COVID, called Ten Leadership
Virtues for Disruptive Times ofCOVID called 10 Leadership
Virtues for Disruptive Times 10Leadership Virtues and kindness
(30:35):
is one of those, by the way andhe bases leadership on virtues
and when you put virtues inplace in your life, they come
out in the way that you lead.
They become empathetic when theyneed to be empathetic.
They become coachable when theyneed to be empathetic.
They become coachable when theyneed to become coachable.
They're kind when they need tobe kind, they're humble.
So you said something there.
(30:56):
I just wanted to share thatwith you because that was really
good.
He also says this you know wetalk a lot about like.
A lot of times when I talk tobusinesses and organizations, I
ask them I said did anybody seeCOVID coming?
Speaker 1 (31:10):
No, we didn't.
Speaker 2 (31:12):
So what do we do?
We expect the best, we preparefor the worst, but we capitalize
on whatever comes.
I like that.
That's what Ziegler said.
He said you expect the best,prepare for the worst, but
capitalize on whatever comes.
And so I love when you said beadaptable.
And so I'm going to show youhow timeless that is.
(31:33):
Anybody that will go back intime and find any of my old ICEV
videos, all the way back intothe 80s you will find that one
of the three tips that I giveyoung people is to be adaptable.
If there's one thing that wecan count on is there's going to
be more disruption coming.
(31:54):
Disruption is not going away.
There is more disruption coming.
We're going to have to getcomfortable being uncomfortable.
Speaker 3 (32:02):
Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (32:04):
And through that uncomfortableness we're going to
pick up Sarah's wisdom rightthere.
It's going to be uncomfortable,but we're still going to be
kind.
We're going to be uncomfortable, but we're going to learn to
adapt.
We're going to be uncomfortable, but we're going to remain
positive and look for the best.
We're going to be uncomfortable, but we're still going to stay
(32:25):
focused on our goals.
That target that beckons.
We're still going to pushforward.
This lady right here is a greatexample of it.
So you lived through the COVIDyears.
You push through your dream yourtarget and through that process
(32:46):
you've practiced these thingsand they show which is why
you've got this branding thatyou have.
Speaker 3 (32:53):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (32:54):
So well, sarah, I just want to say thank you for
taking time.
Do you happen to know she'sbeen a guest on this show?
By the way, do you happen toknow Madeline Bar?
I don't she's from bernie isshe really?
Speaker 3 (33:12):
I should look her up madeline um.
Speaker 2 (33:16):
She sold a pig at the county stock show for, I think,
thirty thousand dollars yeahand then she turned around and
donated it all to saint jude'schildren's hospital that's
amazing.
And she herself was a childwith cancer and they cured her.
Speaker 3 (33:34):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (33:36):
And through FFA and through her project.
She said I want to helpsomebody else.
Speaker 3 (33:40):
I love that, so I've had two guests from Barney Texas
.
Speaker 2 (33:44):
On the Growing Our Future podcast.
Speaker 3 (33:46):
They raised some good kids.
Speaker 2 (33:48):
Let's do something right, madeline.
Thank you, hey.
By the way, before you leave,we always like to have one last
fun final question.
I'm just curious what is thebest concert you've ever been to
?
Speaker 3 (34:04):
oh, that's gonna be hard.
Speaker 2 (34:06):
I feel like you're gonna judge me I'm talking to a
social media influencer who'sputting content out all the time
and she's afraid I'm about tojudge her.
That was the most classiccomment of this entire interview
.
Go ahead, sarah.
What's the best concert you'veever?
Speaker 3 (34:27):
been well.
I'm a swifty, so it's gonnahave to be the taylor swift
concert.
I know really, yeah, which one.
So I went back in like the ogdays.
So when I was 15 I went in sanantonio and that was probably
one of the best experiences.
I went with my mama so I thinkthat's great by the way memories
(34:51):
um.
Speaker 2 (34:53):
So everybody that knows me knows I am a diehard,
diehard bruce springsteen andjimmy buffett fan oh so I'm
diehard bruce jimmy yeah and soI had a friend of mine who was
helping me understand the, thegenre of swifties of taylor
(35:18):
swift.
And he told me, and all he hadto say was this he said aaron
taylor is the bruce springsteenof this generation.
And when.
I know how big Bruce Springsteenis, and then I see how big
Taylor is.
Even though it may be adifferent genre of music for me,
(35:38):
I appreciate it out of respectfor the talent.
Speaker 3 (35:42):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (35:43):
So I think that's great, by the way.
So I can only assume you watchthe Super Bowl.
Speaker 3 (35:49):
Well, yeah, of course I did.
Speaker 2 (35:55):
That's great.
Ladies and gentlemen, thank youfor joining us for another
episode of the Growing OurFuture podcast.
We appreciate you stopping byand we appreciate Sarah.
Sarah, thank you, sarah, thankyou, yeah, thank you Coming on
and sharing with us and kind ofgiving us an example of what
(36:17):
it's like to get out there andshare your brand and your NIL
and how you can use that topromote where our food comes
from, and we just appreciate youfor taking some time to come on
and share that and we wish youthe best.
I hope that the next time wetalk you'll officially be Dr
Sprayberry.
Speaker 3 (36:38):
Yep.
Speaker 2 (36:40):
And that we all get a front row seat to your career,
because I suspect you're goingto plant some incredible trees.
Speaker 3 (36:46):
Thank you Appreciate that.
Speaker 2 (36:48):
So, until our paths all cross again, everybody
remember, if you want to knowwhat the future is, grow it.
That means you got to plant theright seeds, you've got to take
care of those seeds and thenone day, god will bless you with
the harvest.
And when you get that harvest,we want you to share it with
others.
So until we meet again,everybody, go out and do
(37:08):
something special and great forsomebody else.
You're going to feel betterabout it and when you do, our
homes, our community, our stateand country will be a better
place to live, work and raiseour families.
Everybody take care.
Speaker 1 (37:27):
We hope you've enjoyed this episode of the
Growing Our Future podcast.
This show is sponsored by theTexas FFA Foundation, whose
mission is to strengthenagricultural science education
so students can develop theirpotential for personal growth,
career success and leadership ina global marketplace.
Learn more at mytexasffaorg.
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