WOODBURY – Standing up on stage, a bright light shining on the podium. Luciano Pedros stands in front of the quiet auditorium of new students. Coming from other places, they are all staring up at him, waiting for him to tell them what their lives would be like in this new chapter. This year he stands up on that stage with one goal: To help lead these people through their next few years as this year’s FFA President.
Most students walk into school with the same thoughts every single day: I just want to go home and get this day over with.
I’m the same way, and at times agree with that statement. I want to also go home and enjoy my day after school, not thinking about the work I have to do. After all, getting time to relax is a blessing with the work students have to do every day.
But some people are not the same way; they choose to do more every single day, leading an example of just doing more.
One of those people being one of our own Nonnewaug students, Luciano Pedros. He is the FFA President this year, along with being a part of and helping with leadership in many other after school activities.
“I like planning the different events we have at school and trying to make it better,” said Pedros.
Pedros works hard every day with his team in FFA to make agriscience student’s time in the program that much better.
“He works well with the team and collaborates with them. Even though Luciano is president, he does a great job ensuring that everyone’s voice is heard equally, including his own,” said Leanne Foster, one of the agriscience instructors who has worked alongside Pedros. “No one is better than anyone else on the team, regardless of their position.”
Pedros stresses how he feels about being such an important part of FFA and everything he does to help this well known part of Nonnewaug.
“I definitely like running the FFA meetings, that’s one of the fun parts, I really enjoy working with my team too,” Pedros said. “I get to help plan the agendas for our separate chapter officer meetings so we can help plan events.”
Merije Iljazi, vice president of the Woodbury FFA, also sees Pedros’ tireless work ethic.
“We first worked together our freshman year to compete in a CDE, Conduct of Chapter Meetings,” said Iljazi. “We even went to states, and made it to nationals but I couldn’t attend. I think that since then he has really grown out of his shell and that’s what made our teamwork so great when we became president and vice president of Sophomore Block. Now we’re chapter officers and it’s going pretty great, I think that our teamwork and collaboration is always super productive.”
But what made Pedros want to be so deeply involved in so much of the school’s activities? Lots of kids have the opportunity to take part in all the different after school activities, from doing a sport, to the many clubs ranging from robotics to art.
“The middle school I went to had a few after school clubs and activities, but not nearly as many as Nonnewaug has,” Pedros said. “When I came here and saw all the different clubs I could join, I just wanted to do as many as possible to challenge myself. This was also my motivation for the classes I take.”
For Pedros, he’s always moving, working and planning something with his team, no matter how much work he is doing, it always seems to have a positive impact.
“The first original event that we planned this year was on agricultural safety. The whole purpose of this event was to educate students about injuries in ag, farm safety, how to properly use a fire extinguisher, and learn about common injuries and how they can help before EMS arrives,” said Nate Berry, the Sentinel of the team who has worked with Pedros throughout fall semester to ensure their success. “We are also in the planning process of a healthy lifestyle.”
For those that have worked with him, his determination is something that’s immediately evident.
“Luciano is a really hard worker, from his schoolwork down to his time spent working for the chapter,” Iljazi said. “His work ethic definitely makes an impact on how we run things, and he’s always shooting out great ideas during our officer meetings. He never takes a break.”
Not only is he a part of FFA planning but also so many other things in the school. He is a critical member in the Robotics Club and Math Honors Society.
“Luciano is involved with so many other committees, on top of being the Woodbury FFA Chapter President, and he does well at dividing his time,” said Foster. “He knows how to prioritize various activities and pre-plan for them, this way everything is covered with the attention that it requires.”
Despite his skills and accolades, his peers can’t help but to notice yet another variable that makes Pedros especially impressive: his willingness to be the consummate teammate.
“All in all, Luciano has grown to be a great friend, not just a teammate,” said Iljazi. “He gets along with everyone and I really think he deserves to be our president.”
