FFA earns Outstanding Results at State Convention

By Ryan Mendoza

This year's FFA state convention was held at the Hilo Hawaiian Hotel from April 27-29. Students flew in and placed well in three different categories: Agriculture Demo, Corsage, and Plant Identification.

For Agriculture Demo, Seniors Sarah Aoki and Kiana Dela Cruz took second. The team worked well together as they did in the district competition in February, where Aoki and Dela Cruz received first in the same category.

In the Corsage category, Junior Bryson Akau and Senior Michelle Oyabu placed third, while Seniors Ashley Hirao and Emilie Jimenez received honorable mention. Hirao said, "I think we could've done way better, just that we didn't practice as much, like how we did for (districts). This time we weren't as serious."

Commenting on the experience, Hirao said, "This year's convention was really good especially since it was in Hilo! It was such a different and positive experience that brought me closer to the other members of FFA."

Seniors Kara Nakachi and Chantelle Costa placed first in Plant Identification. When asked about the challenge of participating in a state competition, Costa said, "We studied just about as much as for the district competition. The format was the same, just that we had to memorize a little more plants." Second place went to Seniors Mandy Horimoto and Michelle Oyabu.

This year was a success for FFA, and their accomplishments would not have been reached without FFA Advisor Jeffrey Yamaguchi. Dela Cruz said, "(Yamaguchi) has always been there. Whenever we had questions about anything, he always answers them. He made sure we did what we were supposed to, and supported us throught everything. Yama's like a dad to all of us."