Farmshow

Waking up at 4am I went to start my car, surprise..4 inches of snow covered my car. I thought oh boy this is gonna be a long drive, so I began the 12 mile trek to school down a few dirt roads, through a couple snow banks and 40 minutes later I finally made it to the school. I have personally decided I need to trade the car in for a snow mobile, its a thing up here in the tundra if you didn't know. Once I got myself situated I was handed the BOOK, ya know the one with everyone's medical forms, the room list, the codes of conducts, emergency numbers, if something bad happens we need it book. I felt like wow, they do trust me, maybe I will be okay.

We got everyone checked in and on  the bus except one student who was in a ditch, thankfully no one was hurt and they made it with just a slight delay. Then off on our 5 hour trip south to the land of temperatures above zero, grass, and sunshine. It was a nice ride down, we watched a few movies, I got to talk with Mr. Honeycutt, and I soon realized this Farmshow trip was one unlike any I have ever been on. For the past 8 years I have gone to Farmshow, all four years of high school I was part of the FFA Demonstration team and than I began showing goats for the few years after that. This trip wasn't about competing, but rather exposing students to agriculture, all it has to offer, and where FFA can take you. During my high school career Farmshow was about ribbons, awards, and milkshakes, this year Farmshow was about exploring, learning, and exciting new FFA members.

After only a few hours at Farmshow we packed up and headed to Bass Pro Shop where I began to see the student's personalities arise. These were freshman students, and students I didn't really know all that well. There were a few officers but the majority of the 26 students were first year members who didn't yet grasp all that FFA could offer. But knew that this organization was something special and that this trip was one for the books.

At the hotel the student's got to swim and I had the chance to stick my sore feet in the hot tub and reflect on the past few days. I got to really get to know a few students from my Intro class and I soon realized not all students had an agricultural background nor did they have much of an interest in it. But these student's they have great stories of where they came from and where they are going. And I hope through my lessons they take their passions and let them shine through.

Farmshow wasn't about ribbons and awards, it was about exploring larger programs, seeing how we can improve what we have here. We visited two programs in Lancaster on Tuesday, I got to see two fellow co-hort members and see what their programs had to offer. I think  it was great for the students to see how large a program can be yet how close the members and educators are. I know I was inspired to help Northwestern build up their program, and I realized how hard it must be to be a single teacher with a dream for a large program. And how awesome it is to have a strong community support, administration support, and passion for agriculture.

As this week continues I am excited to see the impact that Farmshow has left on those first year members and how awesome we are going to make these next 15 weeks!