The 2025 FFA National Convention, held in Indianapolis, Ind. on Oct. 27 – Nov. 1, allowed the future farmers of America to find opportunities to meet new people and develop important characteristics in life.
FFA members from all around the United States and other U.S. territories travel vast distances to attend the convention. “There's a lot of opportunities to meet new people, from Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Texas and California,” as stated by 12th grader and Fauquier High School’s (FHS) FFA president, Grace Faulk.
Members of FFA were able to walk around the city, exploring Indianapolis and the areas of the event. 60,000 FFA members, known as the “Blue Wave” due to their blue jackets, attended this year's convention, with each one having the ability to participate in many activities around the event. This includes buying merchandise from the shop, traversing the Expo and taking part in workshops relating to agriculture and business. As FFA member, Rebbecca Pearson stated, “[FFA members] could walk around Indianapolis, go to the local museums, then the convention, the Expo and some workshops that [FFA members] could go to.”
In addition, simulators were present at the event, such as a simulation revolving around welding, as well as having a “farming simulation where you put on a headset, compete against someone to drive your combine (a machine used to harvest crops) and harvest [crops] in the most efficient method,” added Faulk.
At the convention, there are workshops where FFA members learn important characteristics in life such as, “basic citizenship skills, public speaking, leadership, growth, motivation, etc.,” stated Faulk. The skills learned can carry over into the future, preparing them for later challenges.
In the Expo, colleges talk to FFA constituents about their agriculture programs, with companies talking about internships. As said by Faulk, FFA not only prepares students how to get into agriculture related careers, but “can prepare you to be in politics, to be a senator, to be a CEO of a company, to be a farmer or an animal health specialist.”
Members of the FFA program at FHS enjoyed this year’s National FFA convention, with some parts standing out the most to them. Good memories were created by this event for the members of FFA. “On Halloween, the state officers threw a Halloween party in our hotel and we were able to go down there to line dance, eat food, etc. That was a really good time.”
