Nathan Bushman: Lehi Farming Roots, FFA & Education | RB-038

Hear Nathan Bushman share his Lehi pioneer heritage, journey from Thanksgiving Point farmland to Lehi High FFA adviser, and his work today as Lehi Junior High assistant principal.

Nathan Bushman: Lehi Farming Roots, FFA & Education | RB-038

Hear Nathan Bushman share his Lehi pioneer heritage, journey from Thanksgiving Point farmland to Lehi High FFA adviser, and his work today as Lehi Junior High assistant principal.

Nathan Bushman on Lehi's Farming Roots, FFA Legacy, and a Life in Education

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Who Is Nathan Bushman, and Why Does His Story Matter?

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Episode Overview

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Episode Highlights

Key Stories from the Interview

Pioneer Roots and the Evans Settlement

From Family Farm to Thanksgiving Point

Doug Webb's Life-Changing Mentorship

Summers with FFA and Lehi Roundup

The Traveling Agriculture Teacher

The Emotional Weight of Administration

Raising Kids Through Agriculture

Historical Insights About Lehi

Community and Legacy Themes

Memorable Quotes

Related Lehi Topics

Photo Opportunities for Historical Archive

Full Transcript

Nathan Bushman Lehi Utah Agriculture Education FFA Interview - Roots & Branches of Lehi Podcast

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From the farmland that became Thanksgiving Point to the classrooms of Lehi High School, Nathan Bushman carries forward a multigenerational commitment to agriculture, education, and the young people of Lehi, Utah.

Work Hard Mortgage helps families achieve the dream of homeownership in Lehi and across Utah.

Nathan Bushman's story is woven deeply into the early fabric of Lehi, Utah . As a descendant of one of the original families sent by Brigham Young to settle the area, his roots stretch back to the Evans settlement group, and his upbringing reflects the long-standing agricultural traditions that shaped early Lehi. Growing up on farmland that would eventually become Thanksgiving Point , Nathan experienced firsthand the blend of heritage, hard work, and community responsibility that defined generations of Lehi families.

In this episode of Roots & Branches of Lehi , host Ryan Harding sits down with Nathan to explore how his life bridged two of Lehi's most defining legacies— farming and education . Influenced by his father, an elementary principal, and inspired by mentor Doug Webb, Nathan found his calling as an agricultural science teacher and FFA adviser at Lehi High School . His story highlights the evolving role of agriculture in a rapidly growing city, the importance of hands-on learning, and the enduring value of leadership programs like FFA in shaping confident, capable young people.

Today, as an assistant principal at Lehi Junior High , Nathan continues to invest in the next generation. His reflections on education, community needs, and the challenges facing modern youth offer a meaningful look at how Lehi's heritage continues to influence its future. His journey reminds us why preserving agricultural education , community traditions, and strong mentorship still matters in a changing Lehi. For anyone interested in Lehi Utah history , pioneer family stories , FFA leadership , or the future of Alpine School District education , this interview offers both historical perspective and practical inspiration.

Prefer to listen? This episode is also available on <a href="https: <a href="https:

Nathan Bushman

Former Lehi High School agriculture teacher & FFA adviser; Assistant Principal at Lehi Junior High

1800s family settlement; 1980s–2020s personal life; 2000s–2020s teaching and administration

Ryan Harding

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Nathan describes his family's deep pioneer roots, noting his great-grandfather was part of the Evans group sent by Brigham Young to settle Lehi—establishing a multigenerational legacy that still shapes his identity today.

He shares how his family farm eventually became the land where Thanksgiving Point now stands, a powerful symbol of Lehi's transition from agriculture to development. The family sold that farm and bought a ranch, continuing their agricultural life in a new form.

Mentor Doug Webb pulled Nathan aside while he was at college and said, "You should think about this." That single conversation opened Nathan's eyes to leadership opportunities in FFA and set him on the path to becoming an agriculture teacher.

Nathan recalls summers spent preparing floats, ponies, and petting zoos for Lehi Roundup. As an FFA adviser, he didn't get summers off—because that's when agriculture happens. He and his students were heavily involved in Wines Park events and community traditions.

He describes driving around all summer visiting students' livestock and garden projects—whether a lamb for the county fair or a two-acre garden destined for the farmers market. He even acted like a "vet" some days, helping kids troubleshoot sick animals to avoid expensive veterinary bills.

Nathan reflects on the shift from teaching to administration. While teaching offered daily wins and visible student growth, administration brings heavier emotional challenges: supporting at-risk students facing divorce, incarceration, or mental health struggles. He actively works to stay connected to the positive moments by attending FFA events and basketball games.

He shares how raising animals with his wife and daughters teaches responsibility and connection to the land, even as Lehi loses open space. He believes there's no better way to raise kids than caring for animals or land—trudging out to the barn in snow or rain to make sure everything is fed.

This interview offers valuable perspective on Lehi's agricultural past and its rapid evolution. Here are key historical insights from Nathan's experience:

Throughout the interview, several broader themes emerge that reflect the values and challenges facing Lehi as it grows while honoring its roots:

This episode connects to the broader Roots & Branches of Lehi archive. Explore these related topics to deepen your understanding of Lehi's history and community:

To enhance this community profile, consider adding these visual elements to the historical record:

Ryan Harding: Welcome to Roots and Branches of Lehi, the podcast where we get to know the faces, stories, and lives that make up our community. I am Ryan Harding, and I started this podcast as a way for us all to connect with the people we live alongside. Growing up in a small town, I learned that connections go beyond blood. They are built through shared experiences, friendships, and the moments we celebrate together. Each week, we will sit down with someone new from Lehi to share their unique story, their passions, and what they love most about living here. So whether you have been here for years or just arrived, join us as we deepen our roots and reach out to our branches one story at a time.

Welcome Nathan Bushman to Roots and Branches of Lehi, where we get to know you and kind of your background and all these different things and stuff. Talk to me first about childhood and stuff like that. Were you raised here in Lehi? Where did you grow up? What brought you to Lehi?

Nathan Bushman: Yep. Born and raised in Lehi. In fact, we go pretty far back as a Bushman family to the original Brigham Young sent people to settle Lehi and my great-grandfather, if I am doing my genealogy right, was part of that Evans group. He came to Lehi to settle.

Ryan: Awesome. So long time then.

Nathan: Yep. So born and raised in Lehi. On my mom's side, same thing. They were born and raised here. My mom and dad were, but my grandpa was chief of police for a few years. Anthony Fkovich, but his grandparents actually came from Poland, I want to say. Yeah, I should know that and answer better. So, yeah, I have been born and raised here and an agriculture family, right? So, obviously came here and my genealogy was farming and agriculture and so that is what it was for a while.

Ryan: Is that what your dad did then, too?

Nathan: No. So that is what grandpa did and my uncle did. My dad did it growing up, but then my dad actually became an elementary educator and then an elementary principal.

Ryan: And so you can kind of see how the agriculture and the education started to mesh together. So a lot of heritage there, I guess.

Nathan: Yeah, that is exactly it. The agriculture and the elementary education part of things. Did your dad have a big influence on you going into education? Yeah. Yep. I grew up in dad's classroom playing teacher on the chalkboard like all those kind of things and so it was always a lifestyle that I understood and then we did—my dad still helped out on the farm and we still had some land and so on the side we did the agricultural stuff and then I actually—our family farm is where Thanksgiving Point is. So we sold that farm to Thanksgiving Point and we bought a ranch. And so then when I went to college, I was headed more down the agricultural path and then realized that if I wanted to farm, I could just run a family farm. I want to go to college for that.

Ryan: And so things started to mesh and changed to where I had a few—I do not know if you know Doug Webb?

Nathan: Yep. So Doug Webb was my teacher. And he pulled me aside while I was going to college one day and he is like, "You should think about this." And so I took the teaching stuff that I knew I liked and the dad that I grew up with and then the agriculture and changed my major at Utah State to become an ag teacher. Awesome. And never looked back. There is days, but no. No.

Ryan: Good. So talk to me then. So after Utah State, tell me where life took you then as far as jobs go.

Nathan: After Utah State, during Utah State, I did summer internships. So FFA and agricultural classes—most teachers have their summers off. But agriculture teachers do not because that is when agriculture is happening. And so we work all year long. And so during the summer kids are having projects and they can earn school credit for that. And so we supervise that and drive around and help and mentor any way we can. And so during college I did a couple internships down here with Doug. And then between that and the connections of other people that I had when I graduated, Lehi started to boom at that point and they needed another teacher. So, Doug, you should interview. And so I came right out of college and came right back to Lehi.

Ryan: Oh, wow. Okay. And so you were teaching at Lehi High then?

Nathan: Yep. So I was at Lehi High and one of the things we wanted to start because back in the day we did not have agriculture classes and FFA in the junior highs. Okay. And so I was full-time at Lehi High School, but one of those class periods I started teaching at Lehi Junior as well. So I was up there for one period and then at the high school.

Ryan: Okay. And so talk to me about—so you brought up Doug. Talk to me about mentoring and stuff like that. How—was that like a big influence? Just just a small nudge and that sent you in this direction. Talk to me about that for a second.

Nathan: No, I think I went through a transition of the teacher before Doug Webb. So I started the FFA and then Doug came in my last year and he really just opened my eyes, took us to state conventions and to leadership events and those kind of things which we had not been doing before and that is really where I guess his mentorship of taking me to see those bigger opportunities available in the FFA. He took me on those as so much of us students would go to those activities and things. And so that was a big part of helping me understand and appreciating the FFA. And then he was a big part of helping mesh the two to really start thinking about putting the two together because of course my dad's—you need to teach elementary. It is wonderful. Little kids are wonderful. I am not sure little kids are wonderful. And somebody else said, I would not do teenagers. But so I said, I am going to try the teenager thing. And really, my favorite age is high school. Even though I work at a junior high now, it is fine, but it is not the maturity level that the high school kids get. And the real drive and passion for what is going to happen after high school.

Ryan: And so how long did you teach for then?

Nathan: I was 11 years at the high school. And there was—we had a program of three teachers. So there was myself and then I worked with Brett Robertson. I did a lot of the sciences. So animal science, equine science, natural resources, those kind of things. And then the other teacher was doing all the shop. And then we had Lisa Clement was part of our team and she was the teacher at Willow Creek. So at that time those were the two junior highs and that was our program we did and we were the three of us were basically all there together for 11 years.

Ryan: Okay. And now talk to me about FFA just in general because a lot of times people think hey there is not a lot of farms anymore. Mom and dad we even—your dad was a school teacher and stuff like that. Talk to me about why is it still relevant? What—talk to me about why FFA still helps people and what it is doing in that regard.

Nathan: Yeah. And that is what I appreciate about that organization is the diversity of it because it is the largest youth organization in the country. And I think that is because whether you are in a rural community and you really want to focus on like the skills that come with the actual animal husbandry or the plant science or that kind of stuff or you want to focus on the leadership side of things. And it does a really good job of having leadership events that help students learn how to public speak and how to extemporaneous speak or evaluate and give reasons and be a leader. Like we had a parliamentary procedure team. So like I have kids that were on my team and now have left and they have become certified parliamentarians. And so there is just—that there is the ability for a kid to go really heavy after the leadership or there is the ability of a kid that is really into the agricultural part of it and it does a really good job of meshing the two of them. Which is which I think is why it is successful. And when I started my career, Lehi High School's boundaries went all the way out to Cedar Fort, Fairfield and everything. So when I started, we had a lot of kids that were doing what I would say big agriculture. Versus when I left, Westlake had been formed and we were smaller. We started to see more smaller scale things. But there is still quite a few kids involved with the agricultural raising livestock, taking care of horses, training horses, those kind of things still.

Ryan: And what I have heard, too, also is that it is not only—so I think of jobs on a farm, right? But it also could be, hey, there is a lot of big corporations that are selling to those people and they maybe need those guys that understand the logistics of the things that you are teaching.

Nathan: And even small farmers as ourselves because we still raise cattle here. And we like—we have to learn how—marketing. If we are going to compete against the big guys and those kind of things, like we have got to learn to market our own stuff, figuring out social media, podcasting, like all those kind of things are all skills that kids learn that they can then either take to a corporation or they can take back to their own farm where they are either—they might have 12 stalls and they are training horses and but they have got to learn how to market because we do not market a lot on TV anymore. And so there is yeah a lot of aspects that teach them more than they learn the basics in class as well. They are going to learn proper ways to grow and fertilize and animal husbandry skills when it comes to branding and vaccinating all those kind of things. But then the FFA helps tie in the other part to it so that they can walk out and really be businessmen and women.

Ryan: Sure. Sure. So talk to me about—so you said 11 years or 13 years?

Nathan: 11. 11 years. Okay. So 11 years at the high school. Anything stand out from that 11 years? Any stories? Any obviously you mentioned you had somebody influential help you, right? And Doug, did you have any of those stories on the flip side where you were the guy kind of thing?

Nathan: No, I would hope so. Yeah, I have kids that did come up and talked to me and shared those kind of things. Trying to think of like specific situations. There were some teams that came in and did incredible fantastic things and fundraisers and service projects and things like that, but I cannot think of like a specific story, but it always—it was fun to see a student go from 9th grade and then graduate and the skill set and the opportunities that they created along the way.

Ryan: Good. And during that time, I guess you mentioned so 11 years there, the summers and stuff like that. Talk to me then about the summer. So are you still employed by Alpine School District through the summer?

Nathan: Yep. So it is still through the school. So then what does your kind of day-to-day look like during that summer time? That looked like we were heavily involved in Roundup. So back in the day, we are getting floats ready. We are getting the horses and the wagons for the horse parade ready. The kids are getting things decorated for that. And then back at that time when I was involved, we were involved with Wines Park. So we had pony rides. We and as an FFA we did not own ponies so kids were searching for ponies that were ridable and so rounding up ponies and we had the petting zoo so kids are rounding up that. So we spent a lot of June in preparation for that when it came to the FFA side of things and the leadership team that was doing that.

As for what I would do in the summer, there was a lot of—one of the requirements for us to document hours and stuff like that was actually physically see students and so we would show up whether they were raising a lamb for the county fair or a kid had a 2-acre garden because he was going to take it to a farmers market or whatever they were doing, we were there to kind of show up, see how things were going, give them advice, ask us if they had questions about how we could help with that kind of stuff. And we just spent a lot of times driving around visiting kids. And then of course kids—we had kids doing livestock shows. And so we would have groups go out to once a month there were different livestock shows where we would go help support kids and a lot of them did not have necessarily trailers and so we—the school district had the horse trailer and we were able to help transport the animals and stuff for the kids like that. And there were days I felt like a vet. They would call and say my animal is sick and so we would do our best to help them avoid that bill and see if we could help figure out the problem and stuff.

Ryan: You mentioned a lot about animals and stuff like that. What if—what would you tell a kid that is maybe I am not interested in animals. I am not interested in that kind of stuff. Is there a place for somebody like that in FFA in some of those classes?

Nathan: Yep. And that is one of the advantages of when we—when I got there with Doug, too. One of the first things we pushed really hard for was a greenhouse. So we have a greenhouse over there. So we have a lot of kids that find a passion with the plant side of things and so we had a lot of kids that were interested in the natural resource stuff which a lot of them probably signed up for the class that they were going to talk about hunting. But it was a lot more than that. So we did a lot of conversations and topics about forestry and mining and I mean with the mining right here by us and so introduced a lot of kids. So there really was—between a kid could weld or a kid could work with animals, a kid could take plant science. Floriculture is a real popular one. Floriculture classes and then the natural resource and the equine science. Like I would be hard-pressed to find a kid that could not be interested in one of those things for a hobby reason. And if they were not then they were down the hall in the foods class.

Ryan: Sure. And are you seeing kind of a resurgence in some of those more hands-on? It seems like for decades we pushed college and education which obviously education is very important but it was only college white collar work kind of thing and so are you seeing that shift where okay hey sure get educated but it does not have to necessarily be down this white collar path. We want you to get specialized in welding, you mentioned electrician. Are you seeing a resurgence there?

Nathan: Yes and for multiple reasons but I definitely think we are starting to see more of that kind of circling back of students being interested in. We have a really good relationship in Alpine right now with MTech. So we have a lot of kids that go over to MTech and pursue quite a bit through them. There is a lot of diesel mechanics and those kind of things, electricity, and so that is what I liked about the ag classes and CTE classes in general is that exposure to all of that. To be able to understand like—I, for example, cannot ever—an individual in today's world cannot buy a farm. Even in the Midwest, the cost of it at this point. But a kid can certainly pursue, like you said, a corporation where they are going to learn media skills to tie it all together. And but there is definitely an interest in getting the trade skills. Even when we talk to kids about the opportunities to go to MTech because they can learn some of those skills to even just have a higher paying job while they are going to college because now they can be a vet tech while they are going to college or they can be a phlebotomist while they are going to medical school. So I think there is a vision and an understanding that having those skill-based things are important.

Ryan: I think it is a more healthy way of looking at education. It is not there is not only one path, right? Again, specialization—I am a big believer in like the world will pay you if you get really good at something, right? But get good at something and choose what that is. And so I like that. My guess is that is what FFA is trying to help. And I guess maybe expose kids to different areas where they are like hey I did not know I was interested in X, Y, or Z.

Nathan: Yeah. And that is what I like about our education system. I had quite a few foreign exchange students that would come through and take my classes. And I was always fascinated and had conversations with them about what their education system looked like. And they—there is a lot of education systems outside of the US that are just really core based, right? With math, science, and English, your sports, your agriculture, all those kind of stuff are community-based. And I do not think they get the exposure where a kid can go and get a comprehensive exposure to everything because there is so many different things that they can pursue. Yeah. So I like that about it.

Ryan: Good. Anything else on FFA or anything else on that topic that you want to bring up or talk about?

Nathan: No, I think we have covered most of it. Just an understanding that a lot of times it is—it is different than the rodeo situation, right? It is a legitimate organization that is going to build leadership. And the rodeo, the Utah rodeo, all that does too in its own way. And but there is such leadership opportunities. I have seen a lot of kids that have found really incredible futures because of skills that they had being able to communicate and talk and have those kind of skills to lead and to work on a team.

Ryan: Sure. So good. So 11 years there. So then transitioned to Lehi Junior after that or was there something?

Nathan Bushman: Lehi Farming Roots, FFA & Education | RB-038