Four Wagner Community School FFA students and their FFA Advisor, Evan Papousek, attended the 2024 National FFA Convention & Expo held in Indianapolis, IN beginning Wednesday, October 23rd through Saturday, October 26th. The convention hosted a plethora of events making sure that there is something to pique everyone’s interests. Some of this year’s events and workshops included competitive events, delegate events, career success tours, a concert, a rodeo, student and teacher workshops, National Days of Service, student showcase stage, hypnotist shows, award recognition ceremonies, various general sessions, and the American Degree ceremony.

The four WCS students that attended this year’s convention and expo were Emma Kreeger, Casey Van Duysen, Paxton Kuhlman and Kalea Kuhlman. Any FFA member can attend the National Convention, but for students to attend from Wagner, the students had to sell an extra $300 in their annual fruit sale and pay an additional $300 out of pocket.

This is Emma Kreeger’s second year attending the National Convention. She enjoyed her learning experiences from last year so much that she wanted to attend again to learn more and have fun with her fellow Wagner attendees. What Emma was hoping to get out of her experience this year was to see the leadership skills that other FFA leaders use in their chapters that way she could bring back those skills and ideas to the Wagner FFA Chapter. Emma was most intrigued by how FFA is viewed in other states outside of the Midwest. In South Dakota when thinking about agriculture, she mostly thinks about cows and crops, but in other states agriculture looks different. Her favorite experience at Nationals was attending Temple Grandin’s workshop. Grandin is a professor of animal science at Colorado State University and is a renowned expert on cattle behavior and autism. Even though this is Emma’s second-year attending, she was able to learn new information and have different experiences. She would definitely attend again if given the opportunity. Emma is the Treasurer for the Wagner FFA Chapter.

Casey Van Duysen attended the National FFA Convention and Expo for the first time this year. He wanted to go in order to broaden his experiences in FFA. Casey was hoping that by attending he would make some new friends and learn about things that he may not be able to here in South Dakota. He most enjoyed as well as his favorite part of the National Convention was attending the concert featuring Megan Moroney with special guest, Nate Smith. Casey would also attend again if he is given the opportunity.

Paxton Kuhlman wanted to attend the national convention for the first time this year to meet new people and have a fun, enjoyable experience. He went to the convention with the intention of learning more about agriculture. The part of FFA that really piques Paxton’s interest is livestock evaluation and he was able to attend the national convention’s livestock evaluation where he could learn new skills while watching how other top FFA teams demonstrate, interpret data and communicate as a team. Paxton’s favorite experience of the trip was getting to tour the Beck’s Hybrids seed company. Beck’s Hybrids is located in Atlanta, IN and is one of the world’s largest seed research and development facilities. This tour along with the convention as a whole were Paxton’s favorite parts of the trip. If given the chance to attend the convention again, Paxton would definitely want to attend. Paxton is the Sentinel officer for the Wagner FFA Chapter.

Kalea Kuhlman attended the National FFA Convention and Expo for a second year. She went her freshmen year and had a very beneficial and memory making experience; she decided to go this year as well in order to further her knowledge of leadership and agriculture. Kalea was hoping to hone in her skills as a leader by gaining insight and knowledge on what being a leader means as well as the skill set needed to be an efficient leader. As the field of agriculture is vast and constantly growing, there was not one specific area that Kalea wanted to learn more about, instead she wanted to just enjoy whatever experiences came her way during the convention. The speakers were her favorite experience at nationals as the speeches bring out an array of emotions from crying to laughing, making them unforgettable. The best part of the trip for Kalea was being surrounded by people who love agriculture and all share the same passions and interests as she does. She feels that being able to attend nationals is a privilege and she would love to be able to go again. Kalea is the current President of the Wagner FFA Chapter.