La Porte High School FFA kicks off another year

La Porte High School FFA has kicked off another year full of exciting events.

This year’s calendar is packed. FFA is planning on doing the yearly petting zoo, which is a student and staff favorite at LPHS, a potential skiing trip during the winter, breakfast for the teachers, and starting a basketball tournament between the different clubs at LPHS.

FFA has always been a group that provides hands-on experiences that enriches learning. In the past, they’ve done soil judging, crops, forestry, and welding projects. FFA also sells maple syrup every year by tapping the maple trees around the campus. Along with the syrup, the club has an acre of sweet corn that gets donated from different farmers in the community that they sell. 

“I bought two mason jars of syrup last year and it was delicious. I really enjoy both the syrup and the corn because the corn is always locally grown, which makes it so much better,” dance teacher Jessica Tenbusch said. 

FFA is still a relatively new club at LPHS, but it continues to flourish under the leadership of Mrs. Davenport and Mrs. Tuholski. Members of FFA have doubled in size, with 40 kids showing up to the first meeting of the year. The club is perfect for developing leadership skills, public speaking, and anyone who has a passion for agriculture.

“One thing I try to reiterate to the student body is that FFA is not just for farmers. There are a lot of different activities and events involved with FFA that everybody could find something they are passionate about. Everything from art, soil, choir, band, plants, animals, and mechanics. Students could definitely find their niche in the FFA,” Davenport said.

This year, FFA went to Potato Creek State Park to go camping for the annual FFA Officer Retreat, where they spent one night in the park creating their Plan of Action (POA) for the LaPorte FFA. On the way, the officers were assigned a specific part of the meal to cook for dinner later that night. The officers then went to Walmart so that they could get all the ingredients needed for their part of the meal. Later in the evening, they were able to set goals for this year’s FFA and plan out how to accomplish them. The next morning, they had breakfast and the officers explored the state park and went fishing.

“Cooking our dinner together was fun, I really enjoyed hanging out with all my friends,” sophomore and Reporter for FFA, Lukas Parsons, said.

Along with the officer retreat, FFA is planning on attending the National FFA Convention, which is being held in person in Indianapolis. At the convention, the students participate in competitions and gather to learn about careers in agriculture.

“I love being in the competitions, and I love doing livestock and horse judging. Going to Convention is definitely one of my favorite things to do. I just love all the people in FFA and it’s a really good club to be a part of,” senior and president of FFA, Audrey Jeffers, said.

To get involved in FFA, students can show up to the monthly meetings, which are on the 3rd Wednesday of every month in room F.13. There is a $15 dollar fee that includes contest registrations and the countless other activities FFA provides for students.