Yum! At 7:45 in the morning, the smell of pancakes wafted through the hallways in pod A. It was the first meeting of the year for the State College Little Lions FFA Chapter. Ms. Campbell, the new Agricultural science teacher and FFA chapter advisor here at State High, had organized the meeting on September 11th as a casual first meeting, just to ease into the new school year.

This is Ms. Campbell’s first year and already she has goals set for the agriculture program and FFA chapter here at State High. “I’m just hoping to increase enrollment so I’m looking forward to meetings, conferences…”  Ms. Campbell said. The FFA chapter holds monthly meetings, typically at 7:30am, on the second Tuesday of each month. They also attend many conferences and events throughout the year, which the student members and the advisor look forward to. Cameryn Rousselin, a third year FFA member and a senior here at State High, shared her favorite conference that she has participated it, “My favorite conference is Aces. It is a conference where a bunch of different FFA chapters go to one place and we all go into different rooms and get put with random people and do activities,” said Rousselin.

To give a little more background information on what exactly FFA is, Ms. Campbell has provided some helpful words. “FFA is a student-run organization that focuses on leadership and career goals.” Within each FFA chapter, the officers, such as the president, vice president, and treasurer, are all current high school students and FFA members, while the advisor is typically the Agriculture teacher at that school. The chapter is run mostly by the student officers who are aided by the advisor. The acronym FFA does not officially stand for anything anymore, as the current and official name is the National FFA Organization, but it used to stand for Future Farmers of America.

Since it is the beginning of the school year, the chapter must elect new officers. Kiera Perkins, a sophomore at State High and second year FFA member said, “Last year was my first year and I was just a regular member. I did not hold office. This year I am applying to hold the office of Treasure,” Perkins said. While attending the meeting on the eleventh, Kiera Perkins used the time to work on her officer application.

The pancakes made by Ms. Campbell were a hit among the participants, who enjoyed their breakfast with a side of yogurt and some delicious juice. The next meeting for the Little Lion’s FFA chapter will take place on October 9th, at 7:30am, located in room A127.