Colquitt County High School senior Price Jarvis , right , dedicates her floral knowledge to her teacher Michael Schwarz , left . Jarvis placed third in the Area 5 Georgia FFA contest in October at the Sunbelt Ag Expo . Photo by Kasmira Smith
“ My time in FFA has been very fun . I have made a lot of friends and memories . It ’ s inspired me to be a florist ,” Jarvis explained . “ My ninth-grade teacher Ms . Bridges started it . She was the one who pushed me to do plants , and Mr . Schwarz has taught me everything I know about plants .”
Schwarz joined as an agriculture and horticulture teacher at Colquitt County High School in 2019 following Adrienne Smith ’ s retirement . He also works as an advisor with Colquitt County Future Farmers of America staff including William Burt , Heath Cross , Morgan Gaines and Hannah Roberts .
Schwarz teaches classes ranging from horticulture , landscape , ag leadership and floral design . Students often take these classes in agriculture education to complete a Career , Technical , and Agricultural Education pathway . The floral design class does not apply to any pathway at this time , he said .
The high school recently switched its period scheduling to block scheduling , reducing students ’ course loads to four classes every day for approxi-
an Entrepreneurship certificate . She entered her last year of eligibility with FFA completing an approximately 49-page application for an American FFA degree – the highest degree to achieve within the organization .
Her degree application led her to be named a 2022 Future Farmers of America American Star Finalist last July and selected as the 2022 American Star in Agribusiness at the 95th annual National FFA Convention and EXPO held in Indianapolis , Indiana .
Hart is not the only student who ’ s had success recently in the floral design program . Price Jarvis , a Colquitt County High School senior , placed third in the Georgia Future Farmers of America floral design – area contest at the 2022 Sunbelt Ag Expo .
Jarvis competed along with 109 other FFA members on their horticulture knowledge in the three-part competition .
“ I ’ m excited . I love floral science . This is what I want my career to be ,” she said in an interview before the contest held in October .
Jarvis has been a member of FFA since her ninth-grade year at C . A . Gray Junior High School , but she said she never expected to be interested in floral design . She dedicates her floral design interests to her ninth-grade teacher , Blaze Bridges , and her CCHS teacher , Michael Schwarz .
Michael Schwarz ’ s Horticulture and Landscape students come together to work with Farmer Fredo and Flint River Fresh ’ s raised beds at the Sunbelt Ag Expo site . Photo submitted by Michael Schwarz
16 MoultrieScene MARCH 2023