Hawley High school ag instructor and FFA advisor Dave Swanson (right) is being inducted into the Minnesota FFA Hall of Fame. Here he presents an award to Thomas Johansen, a member of the FFA chapter he has advised for 36 years.
Nancy Edmonds Hanson
Thirty-six years ago, Dave Swanson came to Hawley to teach agriculture classes and advise the local FFA chapter. “I was totally a city boy,” he remembers of that decision. “They took a real chance on me.”
It worked out fine. In April, Swanson will be inducted into the Minnesota FFA Hall of Fame – one of eight men and women who make up the class of 2022. He will be introduced at the 2022 Minnesota FFA Alumni and Supporters Annual Meeting in Mankato March 5 and formally inducted at the Minnesota State FFA Convention at the University of Minnesota April 24.
“It was quite a surprise,” he says – an understatement. He was nominated by the Hawley FFA Alumni chapter. It caps off what he calls “a great career,” crediting the opportunity to work closely and get to know students for motivating him over 36 years in Hawley’s classrooms.
Dave, who grew up in Minneapolis, says his love of teaching was inspired by his father Paul, who taught. not agriculture but Bible, philosophy and history at Minnehaha Academy. “I saw how he loved working with kids,” he reflects. His interest in ag was formed during summers spent working on farms in northern Wisconsin.
Originally he was going into forestry and natural resources. After two years at North Park Academy in Chicago, he transferred to the University of Minnesota’s St. Paul campus and, inspired by Dad and his summer jobs, swerved into earning a degree in agricultural education.
Dave and his wife Jill spent several years in California after his graduation in 1984, where he worked in landscaping. But, he says, “I didn’t want my degree to go away without trying the classroom.” He had just begun applying for teaching jobs at home in Minnesota when he fielded an unexpected call from the Hawley superintendent, who’d heard of him through Dave’s old college advisor. “My interview was on Steamer Hill weekend in Rollag,” he remembers. “He made me an offer and gave me just enough time to move.” He was teaching his first classes at Hawley High Oct. 1.
The transition was made easier by the school’s long, strong tradition of teaching agriculture and hosting an active FFA chapter. “This community was very supportive. They helped the ‘city kid’ get his feet on the ground,” he remembers. That community support continues to this day, encompassing both his students’ families and the thriving FFA Alumni organization that nominated him for the Hall of Fame.
He is exceptionally proud of his FFA unit, made up of some 50 girls and boys ranging from seventh grade through senior high. To join the group, they must be enrolled in ag courses. Besides the classroom offerings, that includes independent study with projects they propose themselves, work experience in the community and online agricultural courses.
One of the biggest benefits of FFA, he reports, is the opportunity to develop leadership skills. “I get to watch middle-school kids who might hang to the back of the crowd step up by graduation, confidently standing in front of a group giving a presentation — ready to be part of their community.”
After 36 years in the classroom, Dave hints that retirement might be somewhere in his future. But not next year. “I do think about it from year to year,” he confesses. “But I enjoy working with the students so much. If I haven’t made up my mind this late in the school year, I’m pretty sure I’ll still be here in the fall.”
