Students Shine at State FFA Convention on the Penn State Campus
by Emily Heyl, Veterinary Assistant Class of 2023
School may be out for summer, but not for these seven dedicated FFA students! LCCTC’s Chapter of FFA, along with Mrs. Ariel Yanak (Veterinary Tech instructor and FFA Advisor) and Mr. Vince Pavia (Health Assistant instructor and FFA chaperone), traveled to Penn State University from June 7th to June 9th to attend the 93rd Pennsylvania FFA State Convention.
Throughout the week, students competed in Career Development Events (CDEs) and Leadership Development Events (LDEs)
In the Horse Evaluation CDE, participants evaluate and rank horses on breed characteristics, conformation, and performance. Team members cooperatively complete problems related to equine selection, management, nutrition, and production. They also give oral reasons explaining their placement in various classes. LCCTC senior Madison Hougleman (Wilmington) qualified to compete in this category.
The Veterinary Science CDE provides opportunities for participants to develop technical knowledge and demonstrate practical skills in the field of veterinary science. Participants demonstrate professional ethics, decision-making, communication, and problem-solving skills. The Vet Science teams compete on topics such as parasite ID, breed ID, medical math, hands-on skills, equipment, and an extensive written exam. Congratulations to our Veterinary Science Team — Emily Heyl (senior from New Castle), Gabrielle Treece (junior from Union), Alex Rountree (junior from Shenango), and Jolenna Street (junior from Ellwood). Our LCCTC Vet Science Team competed against fourteen other teams from various FFA Chapters who qualified for state competition through regional and district competitions from all across the state and of those various levels of competition, our Veterinary Science Team can proudly claim to be 5th in the state! Congratulations also go to Jolenna Street who earned a Bronze Medal and to Emily Heyl who earned a Silver Medal, both for individual competitions in Veterinary Science.
LDE events promote interest in leadership and citizenship by providing members participation in agriculture public speaking activities. With graduation ceremonies only last week, Lanna Shultz (Class of 2022 from Mohawk) competed in the LDE Employment Skill and brings home a Bronze Medal, which emboldens competitors to polish their skills in landing a job and launching their careers. During the event, members submit a resume, complete a job application, and participate in an interview via telephone and one-on-one in-person settings with a panel of possible employers.
In the Prepared Speech LDE, participants write and deliver a six- to eight-minute speech about a current agricultural subject. The experience will help competitors excel in school, community, and career settings. Participants are rated based on written speech, speech delivery, and their answers to judges’ questions. Congratulations to Lita Frishkorn (Class of 2022 from New Castle) for earning a Silver Medal for her Prepared Speech Competition.
The kids spent some of their downtime playing mini-golf — a few for the very first time! Alex won overall, but Mrs. Yanak made a hole-in-one on the final hole!.
Students also had a chance to head to Downtown State College where they grabbed some lunch, enjoyed a Starbucks, met a few cute dogs, and had a chance to discover the human medical world from Mr. Pavia. “Honestly — simply walking around campus with my FFA Chapter members was a lot of fun,” Gabrielle reflects. “I really got to see another side of my school friends.”
Of course, competing at this level brings its challenges. In addition to promises to themselves to study more for next year, kids also kept their overall learning experiences in mind. Emily Heyl states, “I learned about the importance of time management. For instance, we had an obligation to get to our events on time.”
No school bell could prepare these teens for this level of responsibility. Because certain competitions fell on different schedules, students were responsible for making sure they were where they needed to be and on time — which is 15 minutes early.
Heyl continues, “We may have wanted to do things like getting ice cream at the Berkey Creamery, playing card games, and sight-seeing, but we had a lot we needed to do and very little time to spare.”
In all, the trip to compete in the FFA State Convention was a success for our LCCTC students. They competed well and have a lot for which they can be proud.
And — they got a taste of campus life as they were housed in the Pinchot Dorms and in Earle Hall. Mrs. Yanak states, “What a great experience for our students to again be competing in-person and to enjoy the process of traveling to and living on Penn States campus.”
Once again, our LCCTC students make us proud to be Eagles, and we celebrate their accomplishments with them and the LCCTC Chapter of FFA!
