The Tompkins High Schools Future Farmers of America (FFA) bracket has recently achieved the top-team and top-individual awards this week. Through months of hard work, preparation, and zealousness, students were able to beautify the judges and become decorated with awards.
Preparing for these types of FFA events varies between different individuals’ personal preferences and specific events. However, they all require unwavering steadfast determination and stability.
“I raised rabbits, so it’s less intensive than a barn animal since we only have them for six weeks and they’re at our houses. To prepare, I had to work with my rabbits to get them to “set” properly, which is making them lie a certain way for evaluation. It requires a lot of repetition to make sure they remain in that position for a full minute. I also had to learn the answers to questions about rabbits for the showmanship portion of the show. Things like “what is gestation,” or “how long is rabbit gestation,” and “what type of meat do rabbits have,” junior Ayomipe Adebanjo said.
Our schools FFA group particularly excels across multiple Program of Activities (POA) categories, winning the majority of the awards that are there to claim.
“Tompkins is really good at some LDE’s like Senior Quiz, our team won at state last year, and made it to state this year. For CDE’s, most of our teams made it to state this year, but our Milk Quality team is especially good,” Adebanjo said.
For a significant number of students in FFA, they’ve created unforgettable and cherishable experiences.
“My favorite memory is when I received my Lonestar degree, I had been dreaming about that moment ever since I became a member. Everything that I’ve done has worked towards my degree, and it was a moment of relief but also a celebration of the hard work from the past three years,” senior Emma Campbell said.
As much fun as FFA can be, it also comes with many hardships and tribulations, oftentimes becoming challenging, compelling them to reflect back on their mistakes for future victories.
“This year at the CDE Area competition, my team did not make it to state. This is the first year that this competition has been at Tompkins, so there was a lot of learning that some of the other seasoned competitors had the upper hand on. Though it was our first year, we only got better each time we competed. We have the mindset to always get back up whenever something doesn’t go the way we want it to. We learn and grow from our mistakes and use those “losses” as lessons to be even greater next time,” senior Ysabella Byers said.
Ultimately, no matter how difficult or strenuous FFA may be, FFA allows its members to relax and enjoy themselves, creating memories that will last a lifetime and bring back indelible awards. As our students continue to grow and demonstrate their magisterial skills, there’s no doubt that Tompkins will carry on with its victories.
