By Vivian Fang

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Six Future Farmers of America (FFA) members attended the FFA State Convention held on Feb. 19 and 20. All contestants placed in their respective categories, taking first in Educational Display, second in Plant Identification and Job Interview and third in Creed Citation.

“They did really well at the states. Everything we entered, we placed,” expressed FFA adviser Jeffrey Yamaguchi, “Some years the competition’s a little tougher and some years not so (much). You prepare the same but the quality of the competition changes every year so how we fare all depends.”

Unlike other Career and Technical Education competitions, in order to compete in the FFA States, students must place first or second in the district competition. “(Our competition) is a little bit different in that we have a districts,” explained Yamaguchi, “When we had our districts, everybody competed. I have 14 guys and all 14 participated but only three qualified to go to states.”

The competition consisted of a series of individual categories. Senior Jaimelyn Buenaventura and Sophomore Zoe Tengan participated in Plant Identification, which consisted of identifying 100 local plant species. Seniors Clarissa Jean Ponce, Matthew Ito and Ian Herold-Namu competed in the Educational Display category, which was a states-only category, exempt from district competition, that entailed the creation of a board that explained organic foods. “We just researched what is organic, the debate around it and if it’s beneficial for you,” said Ponce.

Junior Kristen Miguel participated in two events, the Job Interview and Creed Citation. “For (Creed Citation), I had to recite the mission statement of the FFA to about 20 people in the room, and I was judged based on my enthusiasm, heart, how I say it and my body movement,” explained Miguel, “For Job Interview, I had to do a mock interview in front of three different interviewers and they just asked me basic questions about an entry-level job for agriculture.”

However, the convention was more than just a competition. Students were able to learn more about various facets of agriculture, ranging from organic food to politics. “I’m really interested in the political part of it,” said Ponce, “During the convention, they gave us a lot of speakers and one of them, (Dean Okimoto, who owns Nalo Farms), brought to light the politics of agriculture.” Buenaventura added, “(Agriculture is) way more (relevant) than people think it is. Agriculture is a science too and not just picking weeds and stuff. It’s very political as well. Everything has to do with agriculture.”

The convention was hosted concurrently with SkillsUSA, Family Career and Community Leaders of America and Health Occupations Students of America-Future Health Professionals. “Throughout the day we had a lot of breaks and everyone else had a lot of breaks too, so we had the chance and the opportunity to talk to whoever we wanted to and we could (also) go to watch (other events)” said Miguel. Tengan added, “It was kind of hectic because there was a lot of people, but it was a lot of fun.”

Despite the short duration of the competition, team members were able to form strong bonds. “Before this competition, our class was just a class, but now, I feel that we’re really close to each other now. A lot of us who thought we’d never come (have) become close to each other because we were in the hotel together. We basically had to become friends,” said Miguel. Ponce added, “The most important thing I learned was how to make bonds with other people. That sense of camaraderie, even though you’re competing with one another you’re still part of this organization that’s toward the same goal.”

Although Ponce, Buenaventura, Ito and Herold-Namu are graduating, both Miguel and Tengan plan to work harder in hopes of competing next year and bringing home the gold.