Local Kids Attend FFA National Convention

By IAIN MCMURRAY

The Progress

Several members of the Moapa Valley Chapter of FFA attended and competed at the 95th National FFA Convention and Expo held in Indianapolis, Indiana, last week. The group, which consisted of MVHS students Shaylee Adams, Teagan Jenson, Iain McMurray, and Nadia Shakespear, along with Ag Advisor Lacey Tom, went to represent both Moapa Valley High School and the state of Nevada in three different Career and Leadership Development Events after winning their respective events at the state level.

MVHS senior Shaylee Adams competed in the Employment Skills event. This is a multi-faceted event where participants submit a resume and cover letter as well as undergo an intense mock interview process for a pretend agricultural position.

MVHS sophomore Teagan Jenson competed in the Creed Speaking event. Competitors in their first year of FFA memorize and present the FFA Creed, which outlines the beliefs of the FFA Organization. In this event, they must present it entirely by memory in front of a panel of judges. Then they must answer three questions from judges that they do not know ahead of time. Each participant’s score is a combination of their presentation and their answers to the questions.

MVHS senior Iain McMurray competed in the Prepared Public Speaking event. Participants here must research, write, and give – completely by memory – a six to eight minute speech on an agricultural topic of their choice. Competitors in this event also have a question and answer period that extends for 5 minutes after the speech. They are judged on the quality of their submitted manuscript, their presentation, and their answers to the questions the judges ask them at the end. McMurray wrote his speech on the use of robotics in agriculture, covering topics like the use of drones and vertical farming.

The students got the chance to compete against state winners from all across the country. Competition was fierce. All three won bronze medals for their work and were individually recognized for their performances in separate awards ceremonies.

In addition to the competition, the convention also had hundreds of different companies from all across America giving out a variety of scholarships and internships reserved exclusively for FFA members.

These ranged from tractor companies like John Deere, Case IH, and Kubota, to more animal product-based companies such as Cargill, Purina, Merck, and Tractor Supply. Also notable were clothing brands including Wrangler, Ariat, and Carhartt, as well as companies like Ford and Briggs and Stratton.
FFA members had a chance to interact one-on-one with representatives of as many companies as they had the time and energy for, doing valuable networking and learning about possible future employment opportunities and career paths.

Representatives from over 50 colleges and universities were also there, letting students know about different majors and the educational paths that they could take to achieve their goals.

A major part of the convention is the general sessions, where a sea of over 100,000 FFA members flood the Lucas Oil Stadium to hear from the National FFA Officer team along with a variety of keynote speakers. This year, the group got to hear from Tamika Catchings, a four-time Olympic Gold Medalist and WNBA star. Tamika spoke about her experience as an athlete as well as the importance of setting goals.

The group was very excited to be able to attend the convention.
“What an incredible experience for these FFA members and for our chapter,” said FFA Advisor Lacey Tom. “Our members competed with the very best in the country and they each did amazing in their events. I’m proud of all of my FFA kids and thankful to them and their families for allowing their students to compete at the national level.”