OHS FFA (Future Farmers of America) students traveled to Indianapolis, Indiana on Oct. 31-Nov. 4 to attend the annual national conference to learn more about agriculture and the essence of farming. OHS FFA officers had the opportunity to speak to many different colleges at the convention and meet motivational speakers they have looked up to since they first joined FFA.
FFA is a student organization that works with high school students who are interested in farming and agriculture. It helps them better prepare for careers in the agricultural field. FFA prepares students for future challenges of feeding the growing population and learning more about their interests. The FFA organization holds many competitions for students as opportunities to make it to state-level competitions. They also hold service projects and breakfast events to stay involved with the community. After state competitions, students who qualify have the opportunity to compete at the national conference.
Although OHS FFA members did not recently qualify to compete at nationals, they still had the opportunity to attend and learn about the obstacles they might encounter while preparing for their agricultural career. At the conference, FFA members had opportunities to meet new people and get exposed to new colleges pertaining to their career interests. Senior Madilynn Pool said, “The purpose of the FFA National conference is to meet new people and attend sessions about agriculture. We learned more about who we could become as FFA members after high school.” Pool and many other OHS FFA members learned plenty during their time at the National FFA Convention.
The purpose of the conference was to see FFA on a different level. We participated in workshops and discussed ideas with other chapters.
— Jena Hanson
OHS students participated in many events and activities during their stay. Teacher Ms. Jamie Gray said, “We toured a bunch of agriculture businesses, we saw and learned about different production facilities, we listened to different sessions and attended a career fair.” Ms. Gray and many other FFA members learned many new things about agriculture and learned how important it is to build a career surrounding your interests. FFA vice president Jena Hanson said, “The purpose of the conference was to see FFA on a different level. We participated in workshops and discussed ideas with other chapters.” OHS FFA students had the opportunity to meet new students from all over the country to get a new perspective on career choices and related interests.
OHS FFA members are looking forward to the upcoming events they have planned. FFA members will be participating in events like competitions in December and January, their annual appreciation breakfast in February, their annual state competition in April, and their participation in the Steele County Free Fair.
If students are interested in joining the FFA organization, contact FFA adviser Ms. Elizabeth Tinaglia for more information.
