NICOLE: In the small village of Hamilton, New York with a population of just around 4,000, sits the town’s tiny school, and a teacher with a big heart.
MORGAN CRAVIN: “I want to be that person that she was to me for other kids.”
NICOLE APONTE: Morgan Cravin is a senior at the Hamilton Central School.
MORGAN: “I think it would be fun to give him a haircut.”
NICOLE: With a dream of one day, becoming just like her favorite teacher, Mrs. Bossard.
JOHANNA BOSSARD: “We can give him a little bit of love and I think he might need a little bit more soil. Does he need soil? oooh!”
NICOLE: Johanna Bossard has been the only agriculture teacher at this school for the past 13 years.
JOHANNA: “This is 3 inches, this is 5.”
NICOLE: To say education is her passion,
JOHANNA: “Now all of these are going to be beautiful shoots.”
NICOLE: “is an understatement.”
JOHANNA: “If you pick a job that you really love, you truly feel like you’re going to your calling. I feel like educating others about agriculture is a calling for me.
NICOLE: Johanna is also their advisor for F.F.A., the Future Farmers of America program.
JOHANNA: “Sometimes I spend more or just as much time with my F.F.A kids or my AG kids as I do with my real kids.
NICOLE: Speaking of her real kids, Johanna’s a mother of two, a full-time teacher and in all her spare time, she’s a dairy farmer.
JOHANNA: “You’re going to get to see where the cows get milked.”
NICOLE: She practices what she preaches.
JOHANNA: “I grew up on a small family farm and my mom was a farmer, and my grandpa was a farmer and so that was where agriculture became important to me as a young child.”
NICOLE: So, it only makes sense she co-own’s this farm in Fabius.
JOHANNA: “Farming is certainly a labor of love. It’s not a job, it’s a lifestyle. So, being a farm family is really important to us.”
NICOLE: Teaching is in Johanna’s blood – whether that be in the classroom or right here on the farm – her love for farming has made it way to the next generation.
BRYNLEY BOSSARD: “It’s really fun to farm it’s one of my favorite things to do.”
NICOLE: This is Brynley, Johanna’s 9-year-old daughter. Brynley and her little sister Raegan know a lot about farming. Just like mom.
BRYNLEY AND RAEGAN BOSSARD: “So guys…”
NICOLE: They’re teaching on social media,
BRYNLEY AND RAEGAN BOSSARD: “Wednesday was National Farmer’s Day.”
NICOLE: As a part of their “fun-farm-fact-friday” segment. Johnanna’s two young girls are following in her muddy footsteps. She’s trying to improve the odds for the next generation of female farmers. According to latest Agricultural Census, just over third of all American farmers are women.
JOHANNA:”I hope my daughters learn from me that girls can do anything. There are no barriers that females and women can’t crush.”
NICOLE: “To absolutely no one’s surprise, the sisters, of course, have a favorite on their farm.”
RAEGAN: “You get to see cows every single day!”
NICOLE: All jokes aside, Johanna’s become that role model of a strong woman in agriculture, not only to her girls but to the students she helps each and every day in the classroom.
MORGAN: “I think if I didn’t have Bossard as my advisor then I probably wouldn’t be where I am and I don’t think our chapter wouldn’t be where it is. She’s done a lot.”
NICOLE: Sometimes the best teachers we’ve ever had…
JOHANNA: “What do we need to put on here?”
NICOLE: Aren’t the ones the that tell you they’re making a difference. But it’s the ones that even years later, still have an impact in your heart.
JOHANNA: “You are being a mentor and I take that job really seriously. I want them to see how passionate I am and my follow through and if I tell you I’m going to do something, I’m going to do it.”
NICOLE: And help us grow into who we are today. In Hamilton, New York, Nicole Aponte…
JOHANNA: “Can I take these around?”
NICOLE: NCC News.
