Pedro Valles is already historic.

Now he wants to be a trailblazer.

The Dover High School senior last Wednesday night was announced as the winner in the election for secretary at the 97th Oklahoma FFA State Convention at Tulsa’s BOK Center.

Valles is the first person from the Dover FFA chapter to ever be elected to state office in FFA.

“I am so excited for Pedro,” said Dover Superintendent Jay Wood. “He has accomplished something no one else has done here at Dover.”

Valles is just the 10th person from a Kingfisher County high school to hold the office of Oklahoma FFA secretary.

The previous nine were all from Kingfisher, including Braden Burns, who was at the convention wrapping up his year as state FFA president.

But for Valles, winning wasn’t just big because he’s from the small town of Dover.

To him, it’s more than that.

“For me, being a Hispanic kid from such a small town, it makes me so happy to know that I get to represent everything and everyone who has believed in me,” Valles said.

“Making history is such a big thing to have accomplished, but I’m really just happy that I’m going to inspire so many young kids who come from a similar background as me.”

Though his hometown is small, Valles knew his support was big and was something that carried him through the process of being elected to state office.

Once he declared for office, Valles took several trips to visit with other FFA chapters. It was, essentially, his own campaign trail.

There was also an interview process and Valles had to present a speech during state convention on Tuesday.

“When I was going to say my speech, I was really doubting myself,” Valles admitted. “But once I started to talk, it felt right to be able to reach out to everyone.”

Valles talked with the FFA crowd about imperfections that exist in everyone.

“ We shouldn’t be ashamed of them, but embrace them because they can help us go further in life and make us into better people in the future,” he said.

“And I talked about how FFA has made me feel at home despite my imperfections.”

Tom Garrett is the father of Dover counselor Lori Burns (the wife of Dover FFA Adviser Ryan Burns) and the grandfather of Braden, the outgoing state president.

He’s been to dozens of state conventions and watched countless speeches and was impressed by Valles’ address to the crowd.

“His nominating speech alone made you want to love him,” Garrett said.

After his speech, the waiting began. Candidates had to wait until the final session to hear the names of the winners announced.

“When I was waiting for the results, all I could think of was everyone who had helped me get to this point and how I had everyone in my community behind me, no matter what,” Valles said.

Ryan Burns. Lori Burns. Kara Winans. Quetta Woodall. His cousin, Fatima Aboite.

His mother, Consuelo Valles.

All of those names - those people - floated through his mind as he stood on the stage.

Then he heard his name. History had been made for Valles and for Dover.

And, said Ryan Burns, it was very well-deserved.

“I am very proud of Pedro. He has been a great leader in all aspects of school,” Burns said. “I’ve seen his leadership on the baseball field and basketball court. He makes everyone around him better because of his positive attitude.

“He is consistently helping others, even before helping himself. We are excited about his future.”

Wood said Valles possesses a multitude of qualities that made him a viable choice.

“He has always had an infectious smile and demeanor to him backed up with hard work, dedication and pride for his school and community,” Wood said.

Wood also noted Valles’ participation in baseball and basketball while also taking “several long car rides touring Oklahoma to make this happen.”

He did it all while serving as his own chapter’s president and maintaining a 4.0 grade point average.

“It is always so neat when you see students set goals and have dreams and then work to make those goals and dreams happen,” Wood said. “The Dover staff, students and community are so proud of him and wish him nothing but the best this next year and the years to come.”

Garrett agrees with that sentiment.

“This is a major accomplishment for Pedro, Dover FFA and Dover Public Schools,” he said. “It will change his life.”

It’s going to put Dover on the map in a different way than ever before, he said.

“At some point in the near future, you will be telling someone you are from Dover and the response will be, ‘Isn’t that where Pedro Valles lives?’ Truth,” Garrett exclaimed.

Valles plans to attend Oklahoma State University and pursue a career in the medical field. His first year of college will include his duties as a state officer.

He said he’ll spend that year not only taking care of the tasks at hand, but also letting people know they’ve got a place in FFA.

At one point - maybe because of his imperfections or maybe because of his heritage - Valles thought maybe there wasn’t a place for him.

Now he’s a state officer. “I have always noticed that some kids are scared to not fit in because they think they won’t be welcomed,” Valles said.

“I want to let them all know it doesn’t matter what kind of background you come from or how you have made it to where you are, the FFA will always welcome you with open arms and help you find a place for you.”