WOODBURY- Have you ever wondered who is really behind a lot of the events that occur through the Ag Department? A team of people including chapter officers and teachers are usually behind each event. One person, however, is at almost every one of these events and had a large part of planning them last school year. Samantha Kostka is always willing to help out, whether it’s planning chapter events, participating in these events, becoming chapter president, or even going to the FFA National Convention three times- something most students are unable to do.
Mr. Eric Birkenberger, a teacher who has worked closely with Kostka, explained that, “Sam has always been involved in the FFA and continues to help after school in various activities like the plant sales, clothing drives, the Christmas wreath sale and many more. She even does the morning chores for our large animals.”
Kostka explains that, “The morning chores started by wanting to help a teacher since she already had a lot of chores around the school and it just kind of happened to become an every day thing.”
Working with Birkenberger has helped teach Kostka multiple skills, many of which she will take with her throughout her life. “Working with Birk gave me a lot of patience and it also taught me to work well with teachers and build a relationship with them,” Kostka explains.
She is known to participate in most of the CDEs. “Starting in freshman year, I’ve participated in milk quality, conduct of chapter, meat judging, parliamentary procedure, Ag sales, and even food science.” Not only that, but she has been to Nationals for the past 3 years as well, which is an accomplishment in and of itself.
The FFA Nationals are held each year to bring FFA chapters from each state together to compete and make connections. Going to the National Convention, even once, is a hard feat to complete. She worked her way up through teams from states to eventually nationals.
“Honestly it felt really good going to Nationals multiple times,” Kostka says. “Especially for my last time this past fall because I was a last minute person added to the team. It felt really good that they chose me out of all the people.”
Sam has many close friends, one of which is Senior Alyssa Gravel. “She has been on various teams such as the goat show team and has gone to Nationals for Parliamentary Procedure and also as a part of the Floriculture team,” Gravel states. “She was also president of our chapter and is a great role model for others.”
But FFA also helped her in other ways, not just the competition side.
“Sam was always an awesome, active, nice and a kind hearted person,” states Birkenberger. “The FFA gave her an opportunity to refine her skills as a person, but she’s always had them; the FFA just helped to enhance her skills like leadership and communication with people.”
Throughout her life, Kostka has gained many accomplishments and will continue to.
“I think our greatest accomplishment together in the FFA is something that hasn’t even come out yet,” says Kyleigh Paige, another close friend of Kostka. “We are currently working on the 2024-25 memory book for AG, and we so badly want this to be different from other books in the past. We are working hard to make it fun and unique to our chapter and our year.”
She jumps at any opportunity the FFA gives her.
“FFA gave me a lot of leadership opportunities that I don’t think that I would ever get from anywhere else,” says Kostka. “The skills I have learned from my position are skills that I can use anywhere later in life. I learned how to work well with a team and communicate well with my peers.”
“My favorite memory of me and Sam is when we went on the Yellowstone trip together during spring break,” says Gravel. “Being together 24 hours a day for a whole week was definitely a bonding experience for us and brought us closer and is our favorite trip to this day.”
“Yellowstone was a really good trip. Flying was a whole different experience for a school trip and Mrs. Jedd did a good job of organizing the trip,” Kostka says. “Overall, the trip gave me new experiences and lasting memories.”
Left to right: Alyssa Gravel, Nikki Perssico, Sam Kostka volunteering at the national days of service planting tulip bulbs at the FFA national convention 2023. (Courtesy of Alexa Sweeney.)
Through being friends with Kostka for many years, Paige has seen how truly caring Kostka really is.
“We talked through the bad things we were going through, and I feel like that day was the first day I could consider Sam my best friend,” states Paige. “And although Sam went through so much, she never stops thinking about others. And this was one of those times, because even though she had recently lost a best friend, she still was worried about me and what I was going through.”
When asked if there was one person in particular that changed her life, Kostka had someone in mind right away.
“My best friend Gabriela Reitmeyer. She definitely helped me shape my life and cherish every moment and time with friends, family and everyone around me. She also taught me to live life to the fullest and take every opportunity presented.”
“That’s just the kind of person Sam is. She cares about people more than anyone can comprehend,” explains Paige. “Sam is also one of those people I can always count on day and night. She will answer her friends no matter what even if it’s late at night I can always rely on her.”
