Our new FFA chapter would like to share some exciting news from the last 2 weeks. Our chapter has made history many times participating in our first ever leadership conference and competing in our first public speaking contest. We took many things from both of these opportunities and we are so excited to announce what is next on our agenda.
On October 7-8, 6 FFA members from the Mission College Prep FFA chapter attended a Regional Leadership conference where over 300 other students, all involved in the FFA, united at the 2023 South Coast Region FFA, Chapter Officer Leadership Conference (COLC) at Santa Maria HS. The team was: Karlie Eskine, Diego Pesquera, Olivia Vieira, Matthew Kenefick, Reagan Schmitt, and Shirley Horzen.
The FFA is an organization that promotes premier leadership, personal growth, and career success, and this is just what everybody who attended this two-day conference gained. At the annual event, students attended various workshops, which serve to encourage and motivate these leaders to return to their schools with a new outlook on life and a positive attitude with their new ideas. According to Siena Boscaro, Regional FFA president from San Luis Obispo FFA, “This conference was truly a unique experience where people from different communities and backgrounds were able to come together not only to learn, but to have a positive experience.” With knowledge gained from this conference, FFA members gained a new outlook on life which translates to making a positive impact within their school, community, and society around them.
Attending the conference with the students were the local FFA advisors who also participated in a professional development meeting on day 2.
Following the event, our MCP FFA “make-shift” officer team traveled to Paso Robles HS to compete in their first ever speaking contest. The officers gave the opening and closing ceremonies which they will also give at the start of each meeting. Although we did not place at the top, the students should be extremely proud of the work they put out and the skills they learned. The team was: Karlie Erskine, Diego Pesquera, Olivia Vieira, Matthew Kenefick, Reagan Schmitt, and Cyrus Greidanus.
Coming up next week, the MCP FFA chapter will be holding their monthly meeting. The meeting will take place on Monday October 23 from 5pm-7:30pm. During the first chunk of the meeting students have the option to carve or paint a pumpkin for our contest, they will enroll the pumpkin in 1 of our 4 categories; FFA, MCP, Animals, or traditional jack-o-lanterns. After our social hour we will open up the meeting for any business and for our guest speakers, Regional President Siena Boscaro and Regional Vice President Emma Wharton. They will be hosting a short workshop on leadership skills and the FFA, we are so excited to learn from them. Please feel free to come by, carve a pumpkin, and interact with our chapter. Our formal meeting will take place between 6:30-7:30pm.
We are absolutely thrilled to offer these events for students. There are many more contests and leadership conferences coming up in the future!
-Reagan Schmitt
MCP FFA Chapter Reporter