Medina Valley High School senior named San Antonio Market's Ag Student of the Week
American poet Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “Speech is power: speech is to persuade, to convert, to compel.”
Much like Emerson, Julia Guzman is no stranger to the power of a good speech. During her nine year involvement in the 4-H program, she has won numerous awards for her public speaking and agricultural advocacy projects. These awards include qualifying for the Texas 4-H State Roundup in the educational presentation contest, where she placed 7th. Guzman also competed in the National Utah 4-H virtual educational presentation contest, and earned the reserve grand champion title for two years straight as a result of her efforts.
In addition to 4-H, she recently made history by being the first student in her FFA chapter to advance to the state competition in soil stewardship public speaking. Now, as a senior at Medina Valley High School, Guzman hopes to use her gift to continue to persuade others to see the agriculture industry in a more positive light.
Her leadership experiences include serving as a Texas 4-H State Council officer, vice president of District 10 4-H, and president of both Castroville 4-H and the Medina County 4-H Council. Guzman currently serves as a Healthy Texas Youth Ambassador, and is a member of the Normal Borlaug Youth in Agriculture program. In addition to her public speaking projects, Guzman also competes in food challenge, photography, dairy judging, and leaders 4 life skill-a-thon.
Through her high school, Guzman is an active member of the FFA, where she competes in radio broadcasting. She is the president of her graduating class, and Mu Alpha Theta. Additionally, Guzman is a varsity athlete, and has participated in track, volleyball, soccer, and basketball. Through these organizations, she has dedicated much of her time to service projects aimed at bettering her community, including hosting clothing drives, working for a local food pantry, and gathering school supplies for students in need. Despite her busy schedule, Guzman has prioritized academics, and will graduate high school with over 30 hours of college course credit.
After graduation, Guzman plans to attend Texas A&M University to major in agricultural economics. She hopes to use this degree to further her education, and earn her Master of Public Service Administration.
“I plan on becoming an agricultural lobbyist to represent and protect the agricultural industry,” said Guzman. “My focus will be on policy that will improve our food supply chain and protect the land that we use to grow natural and healthy crops to support the growing population.”
Congratulations on your outstanding accomplishments Julia, the Capital Farm Credit team wishes you the best of luck in your future endeavors.