Natalie Pratt, the 2025-26 Illinois FFA state president, closed the book on her year serving in that post with an emotional farewell address at the 98th Illinois FFA Convention, held in Springfield from June 9-11.

The Amboy FFA alumni and former Section 2 president talked about how a pink-haired Barbie doll – and a friend’s judgment of that doll – started her on a journey of letting comparison and judgment shape her daily life.

“I realized just how quickly something could seem to lose its value the second someone else decided it wasn’t good enough, and the first time I let someone’s opinion sit a little too long in my mind,” Pratt said to the crowd of hundreds of Illinois FFA members from chapters across the state.

She described how comparison and judgment can become instruments of control.

“If I can convince myself that someone is less confident, less talented and less worthy, then maybe I don’t have to confront the fear that I’m not enough. Hoping someone else would stumble just so I could feel steadier. I built entire stories in my mind about people, flaws that weren’t real, intentions that were never true, just so I could shrink them down to the size that wouldn’t threaten me,” she said.

Pratt said meeting a student during one of her chapter visits throughout the state, as Illinois FFA president, along with a visit with her grandfather, Gail Dallam, helped change her perspective.

“She was navigating some really personal challenges at the time and had ended up in a wheelchair, but if you were expecting that to define her, you would have been completely wrong,” Pratt said.

Instead, the student talked about the positives in her life, only mentioning once that other students didn’t treat her with compassion or kindness.

“She didn’t dwell on it. She didn’t let it define the conversation. Instead, she lit up as she showed me all the decorations she had clipped to her wheelchair, little pieces of color and personality that she said were there to make other people smile. She told me that her entire goal of pushing forward every single day was to try and spread the joy that keeps her going every day,” Pratt said.

She said talking to the student and learning her perspective and outlook helped her form a different perspective.

“This followed me into other parts of my life, helping me notice the people who create joy, just as intentionally, who create it, protect it and pass it on,” she said.

One of those people is her maternal grandfather, Gail Dallam.

“He is one of the most joyful people I have ever met. He doesn’t spend his time judging people, letting the past affect him, letting other people’s lives weigh in on his own. Instead, his life is simple in the best kind of way. He has figured out something that a lot of people never do. He has figured out how to enjoy the life that is right in front of him,” Pratt said.

She finished by telling the FFA students not to let comparison and judgment define who they are and want to be.

“There was never anything wrong with the pink-haired Barbie. But the second we give other people power over our thoughts, we’ve lost its value to ourselves. Make a choice to trust yourself the way you once did, to stop waiting around to become someone you’re not. The truth is, there is never anything wrong with a pink-haired Barbie. We have a choice. We can choose which voice gets the final word. We can show up without measuring ourselves first,” Pratt said.

Pratt was presented with a plaque from the retiring 2025-26 Illinois Association FFA state officer team: Koben Tate, vice president, Illini West FFA; Ethan Bremmer, reporter, Pearl City FFA; Kyle Bradshaw, secretary, Pittsfield FFA; Kaydance Wooton, treasurer, Blue Ridge FFA; and Paige Sierens, sentinel, Annawan FFA.

“Spontaneous in spirit, graceful in leadership and humble at heart, you led with joy, love, consistency and dedication to your team and Illinois FFA,” Sierens said to Pratt in presenting the plaque to Pratt.

Pratt was joined on stage by her parents, Andy and Katie Pratt, and brother Ethan Pratt. Her parents and the parents of the other state officers were presented with honorary Illinois State FFA degrees.

Pratt, a 2025 graduate of Amboy High School, plans to attend Oklahoma State University and major in agriculture education with a goal of becoming an agriculture teacher.

The 2026-27 Illinois Association State FFA officer team includes Bryer Nelson, president, Canton FFA; Collin Johnson, vice president, Franklin FFA; Owen Rigg, secretary, Williamsfield FFA; Lane Perry, treasurer, Marshall FFA; Haven Cash, reporter, North Clay FFA; and Levi German, sentinel, Nokomis FFA.