The Morningside College Ag Club competed against schools like the University of Minnesota and received first place in professional development and second place overall at the 91st Annual National FFA Convention in Indianapolis.

The Morningside College Ag Club competed against schools like the University of Minnesota and received first place in professional development and second place overall at the 91st Annual National FFA Convention in Indianapolis.

Morningside College was one of 10 colleges and universities to participate in the collegiate Alpha Tau Alpha Program of Excellence competition. Most of the other schools were land grant universities.

Students Cassy Huiras of Hopkins, Minn., and Jacob Holck of Merrill, Iowa, had 10 slides to tell the story of the Morningside College Ag Club. For professional development, they shared club activities such as a career night, a career fair and industry tours.

 “The competition provided our students with the opportunity to share the club’s most impactful activities with collegiate agriculture students and advisers across the country,” said Dr. Thomas Paulsen, head of the applied agricultural and food studies department at Morningside. “Being recognized for a commitment to professional development through industry engagement demonstrates how Morningside College develops the whole person through academic and co-curricular, experiential learning.”

Also at the convention, Huiras and students Keaten Miller of Charter Oak, Iowa; Coltin Schachtner-Kramer of Fonda, Iowa; and Krista Zavadil of Fordyce, Neb., participated in a Quiz Bowl competition and placed seventh, and Morningside had a booth for recruiting purposes.

FFA is an organization for students interested in agriculture and leadership. Other Morningsiders who attended the national convention were students Brandon Langbein of Sac City, Iowa, and Nicole Langbein of Sac City, as well as Melissa Nelson, who is the internship and externship coordinator for the applied agricultural and food studies department at Morningside.