ATHOL — Not many people can describe themselves as being in the top 1% of what they do, but Hayven Chase can.

The University of Idaho student recently received his American Diploma at the 97th annual Future Farmers of America Convention in Indianapolis; this is the highest rank attainable in the National FFA Organization.

Only 1% of FFA members earn this degree, Chase said. He is the first FFA member in Kootenai County to receive this award; not to mention the first Timberlake High School graduate and Timberlake FFA chapter member to do so.

“It was pretty cool to get that, especially for our FFA chapter,” Chase said. “We’re a pretty young group, so it’s great to have someone getting their FFA America diploma within the first six years.”

Chase has been riding horses since he was 5 years old and first became interested in FFA through an equine science class he took in high school.

“That caught my attention because I’ve been a horse girl since I was little,” Chase said.

From there, Chase threw his all into FFA chapter work, community service and competition. Even the Supervised Agriculture Experience project he completed for the FFA chapter stood out.

Diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at the age of 8, Chase took on the task of training his own service dog for the SAE project. The dog was with him when he received his American Diploma in Indianapolis last week.

Chase attributes his success to the opportunities that come with being involved with FFA.

“FFA was one of the best experiences I have ever had,” Chase said.

Chase, who graduated from Timberlake High School in 2022, is studying animal and veterinary medicine at the University of Idaho in Moscow.

“I always had a love for animals and the western lifestyle,” Chase said.

Hayven Chase and her service dog, Scentinel, after Chase received his American diploma at the Future Farmers of America Convention in Indianapolis last weekend.