Success Stories

Meet Kristian Ellison:

FFA Alumnus and Owner of Kristian Designs in Statesboro, Ga

For Kristian Ellison, what began as an elective in high school grew into a lifelong passion and a thriving floral business.

Ellison graduated from Southeast Bulloch High School, home to a strong agricultural education program. She was an extremely shy student, often avoiding situations that required public speaking or stepping outside her comfort zone. When it came time to choose electives, agriculture classes felt like the safest option— little did she know it would change her life.

“I took my first agriculture class my sophomore year, and I quickly fell in love with the plant side of things,” she said. “Working in the greenhouse and learning about flowers just clicked for me.”

Noticing her growing interest, her agricultural educator encouraged her to enroll in a floral design class and eventually join FFA to compete in the Floral Design Career Development Event (CDE). Kristian took the leap and never looked back.

The moment she competed in the Floral Design CDE sparked a deeper commitment to the organization and the industry. She also completed a Supervised Agricultural Experience (SAE) and competed with her Proficiency in the area of Diversified Agriculture. Outside of FFA, she gained hands-on experience in greenhouses and working at a local flower shop for more than two years.

“FFA opened so many doors for me,” she said. “It helped me come out of my shell, become more confident communicating, and understand what all goes into the floral industry.”

At just 19 years old, shortly after graduating high school, Ellison took a bold step and opened her own business. Nearly a decade later, she is the owner of Kristian Designs, a successful floral business specializing in weddings and events. Her days are filled with client emails, Zoom consultations, event walk-throughs, and hands-on floral preparation. During peak wedding weeks, the work is nonstop, often involving 12+ hour days and detailed logistical planning. Kristian does not have a floral cooler, so all of her designs are fresh and take more time the day of the event. She also creates floral designs for Georgia Southern University alumni events, a partnership she has maintained since 2019.

One common misconception she encounters is that floral design is an easy profession.

“People think you just play with flowers,” she said. “But it’s long hours, a lot of preparation, and a ton of behind-the-scenes work. It’s much harder than people realize.”

“No matter what career you want to go into, there’s something in FFA that can help you. Floral design taught me skills and introduced me to people who helped shape my career. I’d tell any student interested to just do it, take that leap.”

Kristian’s story shows us how FFA can shape confidence, open doors, and turn a simple class into a lifelong career. Through hands-on learning, leadership development, and real-world experience, FFA helped her discover her passion and take bold steps as a young entrepreneur.

Meet Mrs. Rachel Kinsaul:

2026 Georgia Department of Education Teacher of the Year

“My goal as an agriculture teacher is to be involved in the community as much as possible.”

Mrs. Rachel Kinsaul, an agricultural educator at Morgan County High School, was recently named the 2026 Georgia Department of Education Teacher of the Year.

Mrs. Kinsaul grew up on a beef cattle farm in Greene County, Ga where she attended a private school in grades K-12. After high school, she went on to the University of Georgia (UGA) to pursue a degree in animal science. It was there that she was first introduced to the idea of becoming an agricultural educator. She enjoyed working with students and teaching them animal science while working a summer job, which led her to realize that she would like a career in agricultural education. After completing her undergraduate degree, Mrs. Kinsaul continued her studies at UGA and earned her Master’s Degree in Agricultural Education.

Mrs. Kinsaul’s now 15 year teaching career began at Pike County Middle School, where she taught for three years. She then spent two years at Loganville High School before moving to Morgan County High School, where she has now been for 10 years.

Throughout her career, Mrs. Kinsual has earned many accomplishments. Two of her students have gone on to win National FFA Proficiency Awards, one in Nursery Operations and another in Grain Production. She says Supervised Agricultural Experiences (SAEs) are one of the most important parts of her program because they give students the chance to connect classroom learning with hands-on experiences. Another part of her program that Kinsaul  is proud of is the chapters’ Agricultural Issues Career Development Event team. This team focuses on real-world issues in the agriculture industry, and challenges students to research, think critically, and even talk with professionals about their topics.

The best type of education is hand-on learning according to Mrs. Kinsaul. She works to make her classroom and program engaging so that students can see what they are learning about. For her, it’s about making sure students leave her program with career ready skills and knowledge they can use beyond high school.

Mrs. Kinsaul’s philosophy of teaching is centered around her community. Whether it’s fundraisers, livestock shows, or community events, she sees herself as a “connector” of people. She often asks her fellow agricultural educators to think about their program’s role in the community by posing the question, “If your program was closed today, who in your community would fight for you?”

Being named Georgia’s Teacher of the Year comes with new responsibilities. Mrs. Kinsaul will take a one year leave from her classroom to serve as an ex-officio member of the State Board of Education, give keynote addresses, attend conferences, and help lead professional development classes for other educators. She says the leadership in Morgan County has helped her accomplish so much already, and she hopes to use this new platform to explain the importance of communities seeing the relevance of their agricultural education programs.

Even with all the accomplishments and new duties ahead, Mrs. Kinsaul’s favorite part of her job hasn’t changed – building relationships with students. She enjoys getting to know them throughout high school and watching them grow into successful college students or members of the workforce. Agriculture education is unique, she believes it allows teachers and students to spend extra time together traveling to events, working on SAEs, and going to livestock shows. Those moments create strong personal connections that make a lasting difference.