The 94th Iowa FFA Leadership Conference took place from April 10-12 on the campus of Iowa State University in Ames. Thousands of FFA members from around the entire state gathered to celebrate another year of learning to do, doing to learn, earning to live, and living to serve.
?I believe in the future of agriculture, with a faith born not of words, but of deeds.?
That?s the first line of the FFA Creed, and the Iowa State FFA Convention is one of the best places to see those words in action. The members aren?t the only ones following this creed, however. Next to Hilton Coliseum is the Scheman Building, where colleges, agribusinesses, and other organizations gathered in hopes of talking with Iowa?s future ag industry leaders. Among those booths on the second floor of the building was a rather large display, which was home to none other than the Iowa State University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (ISU CALS).
As the host site for the convention, Iowa State University has a unique opportunity to talk with prospective students and show them what it?s like to be a part of their highly touted agriculture department. Dr. Scott Smalley is an associate professor in the Department of Agricultural Education and Studies at Iowa State University and serves as the agricultural education teacher education coordinator. He talked about the opportunity to talk with Iowa?s ag students in a one-on-one environment.
Throughout the convention, one thing was clear: everybody was glad to be back in person to celebrate ag and the FFA. A vital part of that celebration is the relationship between the Iowa FFA Association and Iowa State University. Andy Zehr, the director of recruiting for ISU CALS, said they were all incredibly excited to have the convention back in Ames and get the opportunity to talk to ag students. He hopes that many of them will consider attending Iowa State University after they graduate high school and continue to contribute to the ag industry in Iowa.
For more information on the Iowa State University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, visit cals.iastate.edu. To read more about the Iowa FFA Leadership Conference, visit https://www.iowaffa.com/state-convention.aspx.
