ANKENY – Students from FFA chapters across Iowa attended the Discovery, 212 degrees and 360 degrees leadership conferences.
These conferences are an activity of the National FFA Organization made possible by title sponsor Syngenta as a special project of the National FFA Foundation.
Taylor Sorrells, Kayla Luther, Allivea Skarda and Danika Schultes, members of the Creston FFA Chapter, attended the event Nov. 12 at the FFA Enrichment Center in Ankeny.
Discovery is a program offered specifically for seventh- and eighth-grade students and focuses on shifting the leadership focus from “me” to “we” while utilizing the FFA mission. Participants learned about emotional growth, opportunities in agriculture and how to become a servant leader.
The program 212 degrees – the temperature at which water boils – focuses on taking students to the boiling point of leadership. At 211 degrees, water is extremely hot, but just one more degree gets us to the next level. The one-day 212 degrees conference is focused on student development and helps FFA members become aware of all aspects of personal growth. FFA members attended sessions on finding their passions, core virtues, decision-making, character and building connections. Students leave this experience with a personal plan for self-improvement.
The program 360 degrees takes students full circle in terms of chapter leadership. The one-day 360 degrees conference is focused on the importance of vision and how to become a visionary leader. Students spent their time in sessions understanding the importance of having a vision for their chapter, setting goals, recruiting followers, being persistent and tracking success. Students leave this conference with the necessary understanding and skills to be a person of influence in their chapters and communities.
This school year, more than 7,500 students across the nation will participate in a 212 degrees or 360 degrees leadership conference. The National FFA Organization provides leadership, personal growth and career success training through agricultural education to 629,367 student members who belong to one of 7,757 local FFA chapters throughout the U.S.