The Taylorville community is very supportive of the Taylorville FFA Chapter in many ways, but recently a local business hosted National FFA Agriscience Fair Finalists from the Taylorville FFA Chapter. The new Farm Credit Service Board Room served as the interview room for two National FFA Agriscience Fair Interviews.
This past Spring, Taylorville FFA members, Drew Mickey, Jay Bliler, Abby Norris, and Abby Erlenbush set out to accomplish the goal of making it to the National FFA level with their Science Fair Projects. These four student’s hard work and dedication paid off and are now a Top Ten Finalist in the nation. Some of the ways students compete at the National FFA level has changed due to Covid 19 and most national interviews are conducted through Zoom. This method of competing has a few down falls, but it has been a way for National FFA finalist to interview with some of the best and brightest agriculture industry leaders.
On Friday, September 9th and September 16th , Farm Credit was gracious enough to allow Abby Norris, Abby Erlenbush, Jay Bliler, and Drew Mickey to use their brand new conference room for a quiet space with good internet connection to conduct their interview. Once the students logged on to the Zoom call, they gave a one-minute introduction statement about their project and then answered 15 minutes worth of questions regarding their procedures, outcomes, and scientific investigation. They had judges, which were National FFA Staff, industry leading Veterinarians, CEOs of agricultural companies, and past National FFA Agriscience Fair winners. The judges asked questions such as, “ How did you ensure that your results were accurate, and would another chapter be able to replicate your project?” They were also asked questions such as, “How did this project positively impact you on a personal level?” These FFA members answered the questions to the best of their ability and will find out the results on stage at National Convention in October. These national competitors and Taylorville FFA would like to say, “Thank you,” to Farm Credit for the interview space and all of their support!
Photo left to right: Abby Norris, Abby Erlenbush, Drew Mickey, Jay Bliler
