Anna Den Herder earned FFA American Degree.

2015 Dec 7

Dordt College seniors Abbie Beahm and Anna Den Herder earned the FFA's American Degree. Recipients were honored at a reception on October 31 at the 88th National FFA Convention in Louisville, Kentucky.

The American Degree is the highest honor granted to a member, requiring at least six years of dedication, volunteering, and projects. Fewer than half of one percent of FFA's members earn this award.

To earn the honor, students must have earned $10,000 through a supervised agricultural experience program and invested those earnings productively. Students are encouraged to grow, achieve, and establish themselves in an agricultural career, demonstrating a strong commitment to agriculture and the FFA.

Beahm is majoring in animal science, and Den Herder is majoring in agriculture-business. Both students are from Sioux Center, Iowa. Only 127 students honored are from Iowa, out of approximately 3,350 students honored nationally.

Mike Schouten, who manages the Agriculture Stewardship Center at Dordt, says, "This is a great honor, and they should be proud that their hard work in the FFA has paid off. We are grateful that they have chosen to continue their agriculture education at Dordt College."

Dordt College is one of only a handful of Christian colleges in North America to offer an accredited four-year agriculture program, with several emphases, including animal science, agri-business, ag missions, and biotechnology.