On October 18th-22nd, the Agriscience Department’s FFA chapter embarked on their annual trip to the National FFA Convention, which took place in Indianapolis. Last year, the convention was held in Louisville, Kentucky, however, for the next several years it will continue to be held in Indianapolis. Eleven members from the Agriscience (AG) Department went on the trip this year – including the chapter’s President, Vice President, Reporters, Student Advisors, etc. Vice President of the Stamford Regional FFA Chapter, Elizabeth Lupinacci (’17), said “I gained a lot of respect for the official dress I wear. It was an amazing experience”.
The keynote speaker was Diana Nyad who is a famous long distance swimmer and an inspirational speaker. She helped to kick off the event by welcoming thousands of FFA members and exciting them for an educational and action-packed program. Throughout the week, the group went to a series of presentations at the convention center, a Cole Swindell and Chris Young concert at Lucas Oil stadium, and attended the FFA Rodeo.
Chapter President, Emma Jelliffe (’17), made Westhill proud by winning the CT State Job Interview competition which allowed her to compete at the National level. Competing against the best of the best from each state and competitors from Guam and Puerto Rico, Emma earned herself a silver medal. Jelliffe said, “I went to National Convention in Louisville last year with the Stamford FFA chapter for fun and it was such an amazing experience. This year we went to Indianapolis and it was totally different because I was competing. Being able to compete at the national level was an honor and it was so cool getting to talk to kids from all over the states, 48 of the 50 states had kids in my event.”
The convention featured competitions in all Agricultural fields, such as biotechnology, animal science, vet science, environmental science, floriculture, animal reproduction, and horticulture. According to many members, the best part of the trip was meeting other FFA members from all parts of the world. Connecticut FFA District 2 President, Jonathan Russo (’17), said “My favorite part of the trip had to be the interactions with fellow FFA members from across the nation, comparing our lifestyles and seeing similar parallels that we all tread upon was a very intriguing experience for me”.
Overall, the trip was a success and left our members with memories to last a lifetime. The beginning lines of the FFA Creed “I believe in the future of agriculture,” will forever be imprinted on the members of Westhill’s Agriscience Department.