Lahainaluna Student Attends Future Farmers of America Leadership Conference

Kahealani Garcia, a junior, and Chapter Secretary for the Future Farmers of America at Lahainaluna High School participated in the 2019 Washington Leadership Conference from July 15 to 21, 2019 in Washington D.C.

The purpose of the conference was to give students opportunities to learn leadership skills and to help make their FFA stronger at the state and Chapter levels.

The conference was attended by members from various schools across the U.S.  Garcia traveled with 15 FFA members to meet with Hawai’i senators and representatives to advocate for Hawaiʻi’s agriculture industry and Future Farmers of America programs.

During the conference, Garcia toured various monuments, memorials and museums around the nation’s capital including: the Washington Monument, Korean War Memorial, Arlington National Cemetery and the Smithsonian Museums.

“My favorite part of the trip was visiting the Holocaust Museum. It was thoroughly informative but very shocking and emotional. It was more interesting to learn about the Holocaust seeing actual artifacts and powerful displays instead of learning from a textbook and photos,” said Garcia.

Members also participated in a service project with the Meals of Hope program where they assembled over 5,000 boxes of fortified macaroni and cheese meals, assembly line-style, to ship to people in need. Garcia reports that they also learned about various service projects that FFA members did in their own communities.

“My WLC experience made me see how I can impact our school and community. It motivated me to do more this year,” said Garcia.

Right now, Lahainaluna Future Farmers of America is recruiting students for their program. Garcia says she would highly recommend students to join. The only requirement for membership is to be currently taking an agriculture/natural resource class.

According to Garcia, “There are many opportunities of FFA memberships such as: travel, competition, awards, recognition, community service, scholarships and making new friends.”

Kahealani Garcia, a junior, and Chapter Secretary for the Future Farmers of America at Lahainaluna High School participated in the 2019 Washington Leadership Conference from July 15 to 21, 2019 in Washington D.C.

Kahealani Garcia, a junior, and Chapter Secretary for the Future Farmers of America at Lahainaluna High School participated in the 2019 Washington Leadership Conference from July 15 to 21, 2019 in Washington D.C.

Kahealani Garcia, a junior, and Chapter Secretary for the Future Farmers of America at Lahainaluna High School participated in the 2019 Washington Leadership Conference from July 15 to 21, 2019 in Washington D.C.