2016 SWHS grad returns to teach agriculture, guide FFA
By GLEN WERLING
Little has changed since Damion Watters left the agriculture education building upon graduating from Southern Wells High School six years ago.
And he’s just fine with that.
Watters was welcomed back to Southern Wells July 1 after taking over the vacant position as ag teacher and FFA advisor.
The 2020 Purdue graduate served a two-year stint as the ag teacher and FFA advisor at Clinton Central High School near Frankfort as his first full-time teaching job.
“Why come back?” Watters said. “That’s a good question. I get asked it a lot.”
He saw that Southern Wells had an opening and was contacted by some of the members of the community about the opening.
He and his wife, Paige, had just bought a house in the Frankfort area.
“We thought about it for a little bit. We started talking about it. We went on vacation. I got a couple texts and phone calls while I was on vacation telling me, ‘Hey the position is open.’ It took me awhile to think about it, but there were just some signs pointing to it that it was the right time to come back home,” Watters said.
He wanted to get back to family and friends in the area and he had been away from Southern Wells long enough that the current students would have no memory of him as a student, he said.
He remembered how the community is all in behind Southern Wells’ agriculture program and FFA chapter. That motivated him to make the decision to return.
“This chapter relies on the community support it gets,” he said. “I was already familiar with the community members who are here helping this chapter. Coming back, I knew them. I knew and appreciated their support. That has made this transition a lot easier,” Watters said.
Since he’s only been on the job a week, he’s still getting to know the students. “We’re just getting started for a busy fall,” Watters said.
Watters is the fourth ag teacher Southern Wells has had since longtime ag teacher Steve Stauffer retired at the end of the 2017-18 school year.
Stauffer, Watters admits, was his inspiration to pursue a career in agriculture education. “He made a huge impact on me. He changed me in a lot of different ways. I was always the quiet person at the back of the classroom,” Watters said recalling how Satuffer brought him out of his shell. “I saw the way he impacted so many students.”
Watters hopes he can have that kind of impact on his students. “I love working with the kids and seeing their growth and seeing them learn. I hope to help them learn about agriculture and teach them lifeskills that they’re going to use forever. They may or may not go into agriculture but I can guarantee that they will walk out of here with skills that they can use for life,” Watters said. “That’s what I want to be able to do.”
Watters said that the program at Southern Wells is already impressive so he doesn’t plan to make a bunch of changes. “This program has a long, outstanding history and tradition of success. I want to see that continue and build upon it. I want to see us stay competitive in FFA because if you’re competitive in FFA, you can be successful. I think the students have a solid variety of contests that they can compete in and if we can add a contest or two along the way in the coming years, I think that would be great,” Watters said.
He does hope to be able to add to the community activities that the chapter is involved in. “We can always do more,” he said, adding, “I’m excited to be here and to work with the amazing community, students and staff at Southern Wells.”
glenw@news-banner.com
