Questa  •  Red River  •  Cerro  •  Costilla  •  Amalia  •  Lama  •  San Cristobal

northern new mexico news boy
Access Back Issues of
Print Editions Here

Post Date:

Written By:

Courtesy Clara Adams (L) to (R), Giana Young, Allison Segura, Jolene Segura, Jessica Jackson, Matthew Gallegos, Esteban Lara, Xzavier Mondragon, Jeremiah Ortega

Questa FFA Students Advance to State Competition


On Nov. 21, the Questa High School FFA chapter competed in multiple Leadership Development Events, known as LDEs, which are designed to build career-ready skills such as public speaking, résumé writing, job applications and agricultural knowledge. The group traveled to Grants to participate in the contests.


Questa students competed in extemporaneous speaking, quiz, creed speaking and employment skills events.
The Greenhand Quiz team, which tests members’ knowledge of FFA history, structure and opportunities based on the official FFA manual and state constitution, tied for first place but lost the tiebreaker. The team still qualified for the State FFA Convention in May. Team members Jolene Segura and Jessi Jackson placed third and fourth individually. The other team members are Giana Young and Allison Segura.


Segura also placed first in her Greenhand Creed cohort and advanced to final callbacks, finishing sixth overall. She will serve as an alternate at the state competition. Young placed sixth in her creed speaking cohort, just outside the callback cutoff. Jackson placed fifth in her extemporaneous speaking cohort, with the top two advancing.


The Employment Skills Leadership Development Event simulates real-world job searching and interviewing, including résumé and application evaluation and interviews. Matthew Gallegos placed 15th overall and made the top 15 list in employment skills. FFA adviser Clara Adams noted his improvement from last year.


In their first competition, Mia Ramos placed 17th and Marianna Ortega placed 24th out of 34 total employment skills participants.


The high school Greenhand Quiz team is currently the only Questa team qualified for the state competition, which will be held in Las Cruces from May 26–29, 2026. Additional state qualifiers will be determined by February 2026.


At the junior high level, the Questa FFA Quiz team earned third place at the district contest, securing a spot at the New Mexico State FFA Contest in Albuquerque from Feb. 6–8, 2026. Team members Jeremiah Ortega, Xavier Mondragon and Estevan Lara also competed in creed speaking, placing 14th, 16th and 17th, respectively, out of 19 competitors.


Although Liam Martinez and Elijah Segura were unable to attend the district contest, both students remain eligible to join the team at the state contest, one as a competitor and one as an alternate. The chapter expressed pride in the students’ dedication and teamwork as they prepare for the state level.


Mariana Ortega is a student at Questa High School. She is a member of the FAA and wrote this piece as a contributing writer.