Putting Big Ideas on Center Stage
Throughout nine sessions at the 99th National FFA Convention & Expo, members take center stage — not to compete for awards, but to showcase their agricultural experiences.
The Student Showcase Stage gives national finalists in agriscience fair, agricultural proficiency and national chapter programs an opportunity to share their research, projects and service experiences with fellow members and industry professionals.
“The Student Showcase Stage is an opportunity for students to share the cool and exciting projects that they’re doing, both individually as well as chapter based,” says National FFA Organization program specialist Ashli Weinrich.
Jaelin Wolfinger of the Sumner-Eddyville-Miller FFA Chapter in Nebraska shared her beef entrepreneurship supervised agricultural experience (SAE), which includes three profit centers centered on beef production. Now attending Kansas State University, Wolfinger hopes to build on her experience to pursue a career helping beef producers incorporate new technologies into their operations.
“What I love most about the Student Showcase is the opportunity for all these FFA students to share about what they’re studying, what their SAE is about and be able to hopefully inspire the next generation of FFA members,” Wolfinger says.
Similarly, Marcus Riecken of the Mount Vernon FFA Chapter in Indiana is using his agriscience research to explore opportunities in the equine industry. His project investigates pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction, an endocrine disorder affecting horses, with hopes of providing foundational findings for future research.
“This SAE has allowed me to network with people all across the equine industry and other business professional industries as well,” says Riecken, who hopes to establish his own equine supplement company.
For younger members like Iris LaHiff of the Horse Creek FFA Chapter in Wyoming, the showcase marks an early opportunity to explore agricultural interests. Using her own show steers, LaHiff researched how dietary fiber affects microorganisms in the bovine gut microbiome and its potential relationship to feed efficiency.
“I found that microorganisms increased when a high-fiber diet was fed,” LaHiff says. “I hope to help beef cattle producers be more informed.”
Despite their different projects and career aspirations, each presenter contributes to a shared exchange of agricultural knowledge, gaining feedback from panelists and connecting with fellow members.
“We’re really hoping that students that come here, they get to see what all of these other students are doing and hopefully that will encourage them to go back home and implement this in their communities,” Weinrich says..
With collaboration taking precedence over competition, the Student Showcase encourages members to carry new ideas and perspectives beyond the convention stage.
