HERMISTON — After missing out on a state convention last year, Hermiston High School FFA students are looking forward to this year’s event, even if it’s virtual.

The 93rd annual Oregon FFA State Convention will be livestreamed Tuesday, March 16, through Thursday, March 18, via the Oregon FFA social media pages. Students have already begun competitions, but will have the opportunity to watch workshops, industry panels and speeches on those days.

Alexis Leathers, a junior, remembered the moment last year when she got the word that the in-person state convention had been canceled due to increasing fears of gatherings during COVID-19. The group had been really excited to go, she said, and it was a letdown that preceded the early end to the entire school year. Since then, FFA students have been able to meet and compete virtually.

“It’s really hard to be interactive and still make it fun for kids in our chapter,” she said. “It’s definitely been interesting to say the least, but it’s taught us to be resilient and adaptive.”

Leathers said she resisted the idea of joining FFA at first, but her mother pushed her into it an she is glad she did. She called FFA, including her team winning state for food science and going to nationals in 2019, an “irreplaceable experience.”

“The people surrounding it are so supportive and you’re able to learn,” she said.

FFA — previously known as Future Farmers of America — was founded in 1928. It involves youths in all aspects of agriculture, including crop science, veterinary science, agricultural technology, leadership and business.

In a group interview of Hermiston FFA students reflecting on their experience during the pandemic, FFA members said this year’s convention will be different than their last experience in 2019, to be sure.

“You definitely don’t get (to) see the same energy as in-person competitions, where you would go back to the hotel and hang out and study together,” Abigail Conner said.

Still, she and others said they were looking forward to getting to compete and participate in local socially distanced watch parties for parts of the convention. That includes the “retiring address” from Hermiston’s Jenna Wallace, who has been serving as Oregon FFA vice president.

Cidney Estes said one thing FFA students really missed during the pandemic was getting the full “fair week” experience in August 2020. Estes has been showing steers since she was in fourth grade, so just dropping off her animal at the fairgrounds for judging was a departure from a tradition she grew up with. She said it was hard to adjust, particularly because plans for the fair kept having to change as COVID-19 case rates and state regulations fluctuated.

As a sophomore, she has yet to have the experience of an in-person FFA convention. But she said participating in FFA this year, including some limited in-person activity, and gearing up for competition has helped improve the school year.

“It’s nice to have something to do and something to look forward to, especially with school being the way it is,” she said.

Sophomore Kylie Temple said she misses road trips and tours of agricultural facilities right now, but the friendships she has made in FFA are lifelong friendships, whatever the rest of the year looks like.

“We don’t have cliques in FFA,” she said.

Anna Guerrero, a senior, said she will be sad to say goodbye to FFA at the end of the year. She said before she came to the high school, she didn’t know anything about agriculture, but took an ag biology class was persuaded by Leah Smith, the FFA advisor at the time, to get involved. She loved it.

“This was my safe place,” she said, gesturing to the ag sciences classroom.

Through FFA, she had opportunities to go into younger classrooms and teach students about agriculture, and it sparked a love of teaching that she plans to pursue after graduation this year. She said if it weren’t for FFA being a part of her high school experience, she probably wouldn’t know yet what she wanted to do, and she wouldn’t have gained as much confidence as she did over the past four years.

“FFA brought out a side of me that I never knew I had, and now it’s who I am,” she said.

Shandie Britt, the current FFA advisor and agricultural sciences teacher at Hermiston High School, said if high school students aren’t sure if they might like FFA, she would encourage them to come to a meeting and see what types of learning experiences are available.

“FFA is a place for everyone,” she said. “It offers an opportunity for people to find out who they are.”