#021 Shane Jacques

Shane Jacques is an educational specialist for the National FFA Organization who focuses on State Officer programs. He has spent the last ten years taking the best leaders that the Future Farmers of America has to offer and making them better. I met Shane when I was a state officer roughly 3 years ago. I was a state officer attending the now-extinct State President's Conference. Ironically enough, I was serving as the state secretary. Shane helped run the conference where I received some of my first trainings on advocacy and I first got to experience the depth and breadth of knowledge that seems to just exist within him. 

From Rhode Island, Shane attended the State University of New York College of Agriculture and Technology at Cobleskill where he received a degree in Agribusiness Management.  While looking for a summer internship, he checked FFA.org where he found three openings and applied for all of them. After an interview process, he was hired as the summer intern under the Advisor Program Coordinator and the Washington Leadership Conference. On the last night of the last week of the conference, he heard about an opening with the National FFA working with State Officer Programs and even though he still had a semester of school left, he applied. He was hired, finished his degree program and has been with the FFA ever since. 

Shane also manages an international experience for State Officers. over the years it has moved across the world and in recent years has been hosted in a country that he has a great love for, South Africa. Cultural Intelligence is something that he is no stranger to and almost any conversation with him can unlock some kind of insight into another culture. this one is no different. We talk about his travels to other countries, my time working with migrant workers and my trip to Japan. Shane also is a master at bringing the best of out people and our conversation of the Clifton Strengthsfinder really shows how much knowledge he has on the area. Building upon your strengths is a great way grow and Shane is one of the best coaches out there. 

Over the course of our roughly 3 hour podcast we cover a lot of ground, and just like every other conversation I've had the pleasure of sitting in on with Shane, I learn way more than you would be willing to read my rambling writing on. Enjoy.