During my time as an FFA member in school, I absolutely loved going to leadership conferences at the Indiana FFA Leadership Center. I couldn’t wait to be back on the 170 acres that so many FFA members have called home. I always loved wearing my conference T-shirts to school and looking back at my “learn books” from the weekend. 

As I was packing up this past June to move to the FFA center as a newly elected state officer, I could not help looking back on these memories. I pulled out my learn book from my first Seeking Opportunities Achieving Results conference from my eighth grade year. I turned through the pages, laughing at my awful handwriting and smiling as I realized how I was able to use what I had learned that weekend, and every other weekend I had spent at the center, throughout my FFA career. 

As our state officer year rolled on, we dove headfirst into conference season. As we assigned our roles for the upcoming SOAR conference, I was assigned to the last session of the conference. I spent the next couple of weeks tossing and turning over what I could do to make my session memorable for all the members. 

That was when I remembered my collection of conference learn books. I grabbed the one from my first SOAR conference, looked through it once again, and knew I had to use it somehow in my last session — though I did not know how.

Tell my story

The weekend finally arrived, and the excitement of FFA members rolling up to the leadership center flooded across all 170 acres. As the weekend pushed on, I saw countless members doing the same types of things that I experienced five years prior. They were making new friends, stepping outside of their comfort zone, finding their place in the FFA and realizing the impact of this organization. 

That Sunday, as members packed up their belongings and prepared for the final session of the SOAR conference, I knew what I wanted to share with them.

I told the students about my first SOAR conference. I shared that I made friends from across the state, that I found my place, and that I felt at home here in Trafalgar. Then I showed them my SOAR learn book from that conference. I explained that I always made sure to keep my learn books easily accessible, so I could always open back up to what I had learned and apply that to my life. I encouraged them to never let what they experienced over the weekend collect dust. Open the book, text a friend, and continue to grow.

This ideal is important in all walks of life. It’s important that we all remember the experiences that we have had, the lessons we’ve learned, and the people we’ve met. It is important that we take time to appreciate all those things, because they have made us who we are and will continue to help us grow.

Berning is the 2019-20 Indiana FFA treasurer.