Fostering Growth

Supervised Agricultural Experiences can look different for every student. Some FFA members might have an SAE in crop production, lifeguarding, working at a hospital or growing pumpkins. One Blue Valley FFA member’s SAE looked small, furry and full of energy. Rylee Olson received a grant for her SAE in Animal Systems and Small Animals: Service Learning, which made it possible to build her project.

Olson served as the Animal Handling Manager for the Blue Valley agriculture program, looking over the small animal facility. She ensured quality of care being provided to the animals by the students in charge of taking care of them. Another aspect of Olson’s role as animal handling manager was to continue the kitten foster system.

“I paired with T. Russel Reitz Animal Shelter to foster out kittens,” Olson says. “To ensure quality kittens for adoption, I wanted to make sure they were able to get plenty of socialization with the students.”

The kittens not only needed socialization but lots of exercise, new toys and an enclosed area for the kittens to be active. This is where the SAE grant from Kansas FFA came in. Kansas has over 25 SAE grants that students can apply for, ensuring a majority of SAE projects and students will qualify to receive the grant. The grants close on November 15th each year. 

Olson’s favorite part about her SAE was spending time with the small animals in the facility. She enjoyed socializing the kittens every day because they had lots of energy and could play together. 

“I am an animal lover and being around the small animals made my day.” Olson says.

Ensuring quality care for multiple animals and taking care of multiple kittens proved to be a large responsibility. Olson says the responsibility helped her  understand how to be organized and multitask. While the learning curve might have been steep at certain points, Olson was able to glean as much knowledge as possible from her experience with her SAE. 

“I also learned how to vaccinate kittens and gained knowledge on how to best care for all the animals housed in the facility.” says Olson. 

Receiving the grant for her SAE was impactful for Olson because the kittens she was working with made it clear to her that she could improve their quality of life while preparing them for their forever homes. 

“All the kittens deserve a great home. Being able to socialize them makes them able to adjust better to new surroundings,” says Olson. “Having their new equipment will ensure they go to the best homes.”