AMBOY – Every year there is something new at school. 

It may be a fresh coat of paint, a new student, a new book, a new projector, a new dry erase pen, a new item on the lunch menu, etc., etc., etc.

There may have been a lot of new at Amboy High School in August at the beginning of the year, but one of the most noticeable was the new agriculture teacher, Lexi Hilliker.

“I grew up on a grain and livestock farm. I’ve been around animals, grain, and farm equipment my entire life,” Hilliker said. “My freshman year of high school, my agriculture teacher, Rick Pettit, gave us an assignment that asked, what do you want to do when you grow up? As a freshman that was a really intimidating question. At the time, I was struggling with what I wanted to do. Mr. Pettit said, ‘You grew up on a farm. You like agriculture. You like kids. Why don’t you look into being an Ag teacher?’

“The assignment I did my freshman year was on an Ag teacher. The school I choose to go to was University of Wisconsin-Platteville. Throughout the years, it all just kind of fell into place. I ended up going to Platteville and I ended up being an Ag teacher.”

Hilliker grew up in Ashton and graduated from Ashton-Franklin Center in 2017. After high school, she studied and played softball at Joliet Junior College for two years before transferring to Platteville where she played softball for one year before getting into student teaching.

She now lives in Franklin Grove with her husband, John Hilliker who owns Hilliker Electric, and her assortment of furry and feathered friends. Hilliker owns 150 laying hens (she sells eggs), three cats, three peacocks, two donkeys, two emus, two dogs, and two head of Hereford cattle. 

 It’s been a really good transition. When I graduated college, I took a teaching job at Pecatonica. I was there for three years and then this job opportunity in Amboy was posted in December or January,” Hilliker said. “I accepted the position in January, so I’ve had six months to prepare. Principal Janet Crownhart has been phenomenal emailing me, wanting me to be involved.

“Ag teacher and co-FFA advisor Joe Heavner has been awesome. We met three or four times over the summer to go over what works for school. He checks in with me. We had a retreat this summer so I would have an opportunity to meet some of the FFA officers and to help me figure out how Amboy does things on the FFA side.”

Heavner has been the face of Amboy FFA and agriculture since he took his position before the 2020-21 school year. 

Instead of worrying about his job security, he’s positive about having an agriculture partner and is excited about what they can do for the AHS students, the FFA chapter, and the entire agriculture program. 

“It’s great to have Lexi. It may have been the 1980s or even earlier since we’ve had two Ag teachers at the high school,” Heavner said. “We’re thrilled to have her. She turned around the Pecatonica program in a short time. She’s great at what at she does and Amboy is lucky to have her. 

“I think we both have our own strengths. I think we complement each other’s strengths really well. Lexi grew up around agriculture and has a strong animal science background. I grew up with my dad being my Ag teacher and I was really involved in FFA and have an FFA officer background. 

“We each have a lot of experiences we can draw from that are different from one another that I think will ultimately help our students a lot. During the interview process a phrase was thrown out, and I think Lexi and I both have the mindset, ‘Two Ag teachers doesn’t mean half the work, it means twice the opportunities for our students.’  

Hilliker feels the exact same way.

The two FFF co-advisors will be with the FFA at different events and lead different programs, but they will both equally be responsible for the Amoy FFA Chapter.

“The really cool part about the agriculture education world is I feel all, or most teachers, want to help each other,” Hilliker said. “It’s been nice coming to Amboy High School where Joe can bounce ideas off of me and I can bounce ideas off of him. We can really have two different perspectives to come up with the best game plan moving forward.

“We’re incorporating a couple different events this year that I’ve done in the past. He’s helping me figure out how to make it fit for what Amboy needs or what Amboy is going to participate in. It’s nice to have someone else for different ideas and as a resource to make the best program possible.”

The new Amboy agriculture representative also said it’s nice to be back in the area.

Although she grew up in Ashton and lives in Franklin Grove, Amboy is closer than Pecatonica, Joliet, or Wisconsin.

“It’s nice to be back in my local community and know people. My mom, Kelly Meurer (Kessel), went to Amboy and my parents (father is Dave Meurer) farm in the area,” Hilliker said. “My brother Levi Hilliker raises pigs and sells them. I want to take a class out there sometime to show them the process.

“My grandma, Kathy Kessel, was the Clipper Kiddies Preschool teacher. She had some of these kids in school, so it’s interesting to see the transition of it all. Everyone at Amboy has been really nice.”

When asked what her favorite aspect of agriculture is, she didn’t take long answering.

She quickly said teaching kids about the opportunities agriculture and FFA can bring to them as adults.

The teacher added students are able to develop a passion or elevate their passion in many ways and still maintain a sizable income in the agriculture industry without having to necessarily be a farmer.