Barnsdall High School junior Jackson Howell has a full plate this year. Not only was Howell a member of the varsity wrestling team, he also participates in high school rodeo and is a member of the FFA chapter at school.

Howell, like many of his peers, joined the FFA early in his high school career.

“I joined FFA my freshman year. I was the first reporter for Barnsdall FFA,” said Howell. “My mom, and the upperclassmen at school got me involved.”

Being an active member in FFA, Howell has experienced many different things from showing animals to leadership lessons and speeches.

“I have gone to speech contest, animal judging contests, and livestock shows. I’ve shown cattle, goats, and pigs,” said Howell.

Howell said taking a leadership role and being involved with his school is what he enjoys most about the program and athletics.

The junior said anyone looking to get involved in FFA should attend leadership camps and simply be yourself.
“Go to as many leadership camps as you can, and don’t be scared to meet new people,” said Howell.  
With one more year in high school, Howell is looking forward to seeing what life has to offer after he graduates. Not leaving everything up to chance, Howell is making plans now for his future.

“I would like to go to college to ride saddle broncs after high school,” said Howell.  
As for his future in wrestling, Howell said it was a fun season and he’s glad he got to spend it with his teammates at Barnsdall.

“I like how close our team was, there was only seven of us. We always had fun, but knew when it was time to go, we got serious and took care of business,” said Howell.