Before Thanksgiving break, the Okawville FFA traveled to Illinois State University. That is where Madison Gogolek, Hunter Kolweier, Colton Kampwerth, Will Tepe, Kade Jackson, Ryan Schwab, and Jacob Ellison attended the Build Conference. It lasted from November 25-26th. Everyone got split up into different groups from chapters all over Illinois and they got to do various activities and build new relationships over the 2 days they were there. During their time there, they got to learn/review different topics they could make about themselves. The past FFA State Officers and present Section President officers worked hard to put this event together.
The first session was called BUILD Your Teams. This is where they got to do activities with their group to learn more about each other and what it takes to make a functioning team. The second session was BUILD Your Skills. Here they got to highlight their skills and did a color test to see what kind of person they were. With each color they got they got sorted into different groups with people more similar to them and see the difference with each color they got. Then, with different scenarios, got to hear how different colors would handle different situations. The third session was over Building Yourself. They got to do different games they wanted to play as a group or go up and line dancing with the rest of the groups. After they all had a blast, they returned to their groups, talked about stress, and named different ways to handle and reduce it. The fourth and fifth sessions were over their decisions and future. Since only juniors and seniors could participate, they all have scholarships and colleges to think about. So, for this, they got to talk and learn about scholarship opportunities, resumes, and different ways to introduce themselves in interviews. Finally, in this session, they got to write letters to their role models because of how much of an impact they have on everyone’s future. Last but not least in Session 6, they got to mingle with others and get their contact information because of how important it is to connect with others in today’s world because you never know when you will need them.
Overall, there was a lot of good information learned about things they will need in the future. Even though there was a lot of learning in those 2 days, they also went out to supper at Portillo’s and enjoyed themselves. It was an amazing experience to have before Thanksgiving break.
