The way Jaelyn Clark spells her name mirrors who she is: distinctive, confident, unexpected. She's a junior at Joppa-Maple Grove, and though her graduating class has only eight students, she wouldn't trade that closeness for anything. "Every place is going to have cliques," she says, "but here you're limited to those. My whole class is like one big family. We're going to argue and fuss at each other, but it's better than not having anybody."

Her teacher, Kenzie Heady, drives from Paducah each day across the bridge to teach agriculture—a subject she was born into. "I grew up on a farm. My dad owns about 80 acres," she says. He runs a small beef operation, mostly black and red Angus. "He actually threw in a couple Jersey crosses. Jerseys are typically your dairy cows, but they can be a little bit more calm. So he wanted to add a little bit of calmness in the herd." They've had horses too, "but they were more like lawn ornaments. We have one horse out there, but she thinks that she's a cow, so she just hangs out with them."

This is technically Kenzie's third year at Joppa—she was here one year, skipped a year, then came back for the last two. Her ag program is small but purposeful. FFA membership is open to any student enrolled in an agriculture class. "We haven't charged dues in the last two years. We've focused on fundraising and community outreach instead." Students compete in horse judging, job interviews, and public speaking. "Our kids might live in town or on a farm, but they all learn how to represent themselves."

Jaelyn, who's been around horses her whole life, lights up talking about it. "My mom's from here and my dad's from Tennessee. My mom's family had horses, and my dad's family had other animals, but when he met my mom, they started getting more into horses." She began showing locally when she was little and later competed in AQHA events—the American Quarter Horse Association shows. "I did a little bit of barrel racing, but not hardcore because I have older horses. I was doing it for fun."

For Jaelyn, FFA has been more than an extracurricular. "My mom was in FFA at Massac. When I got to high school, I knew I wanted to be in it." She's earned her green hand and chapter degree. Last year, she competed in prepared public speaking at the section level on animal rights versus animal welfare. "I think it was 10 minutes because I had at least three pages. You definitely have to get very prepared for that one."

Her teacher beams. "She's really good about, 'What do you need me to do today?' And I can give her a list, and she may not get it all done, but she's gonna try her best."

Kenzie's path to education wasn't linear. A McCracken County graduate who went to school with over 400 students, she studied animal science and worked in veterinary clinics before becoming a graduate assistant at Murray State's vet tech program. "That's where I learned about teaching. I love watching when kids get it or get excited about stuff."

When she came to Joppa, she was struck by the difference. "Last year's graduating class was 10 kids." Her biggest class this year is only 17 or 18 students; others have seven or ten. "You really get to know each other. They know they can email me or call me. They get that one-on-one time that sometimes in a big school you don't always get."

That closeness fuels their classroom work. Kenzie's students recently launched a custom design business through their entrepreneurship class, creating shirts, posters, ornaments, and hats using designs made in Canva, processed through Transfer Express. "We've actually just ordered another one and had a hand press donated to us," she says. Alumni Gary Miller bought them a poster printer and a laminator. "But he wants the kids to be able to pay him back for it on a loan basis."

Jaelyn shows me their first transfer—a green design. "We just started working on it this week." Eventually, they want to supply the school's swag store.

For both teacher and student, the work feels like more than just class. "I love seeing them take ownership," Kenzie says.

And for Jaelyn, it's about belonging. "If I didn't know Ms. Heady as I do right now, then I don't think I'd be very good at half the things that I do."

Kenzie agrees about what makes Joppa special. "You might not have some of the resources here, but you have something that matters more—the heart."

And that's what keeps her crossing that bridge every morning.