My name is Isaiah Govea and I am the Paradise Valley FFA President this year. In June, I received the Arizona FFA Alumni WLC Scholarship at the Arizona FFA State Leadership Conference enabling me to attend National FFA’s Washington Leadership Conference in July.
I attended WLC during Week 6 of the 7 week run. Once in D.C. I was able to mingle with members from all across the country and attend sessions and small group meetings to learn about service, leadership, diversity and even myself. I also had the opportunity to develop my own Living To Serve (LTS) plan which includes the furthering of the message of agricultural education and FFA into our middle and elementary schools.
I also had the opportunity to tour the D.C. area and monuments including Arlington National Cemetery, The World War II Memorial, The Vietnam Memorial, Lincoln Memorial and many others. It was so great to be in our nation’s capital and take in all of the history of our great country. Everywhere we went there was something new to learn and reflect on. One of my favorite memories of WLC was attending reflections at the Marine Corp Memorial and getting to hear about the lives of the men who raised the flag on Iwo Jima, to hear about their lives leading up to that moment and after that moment, and the war, was over. It is truly amazing how their stories connected and what purposes they were called on to afterwards.
Our theme for the week was “To do what we can, with what we have, where we are.” While in D.C. we didn’t merely talk about service and how we have served and were going to serve once we got home. We rolled up our sleeves and got to work in a service project right there in Washington D.C! Collectively, all 300 members who attended Week 6 of the Washington Leadership Conference packed 41,000 pre-packaged meals to send to families in Nicaragua that very same week! It was so amazing to be a part of those 300 FFA members from all over the country and to know that we were doing what we could, with what we had, right there where we were in Washington D.C.
I definitely had an amazing time at the Washington Leadership Conference and know that my experiences while there have changed me. I would recommend to anyone who thinks they may want to go, to do it! Fill out the scholarship application and get ready to have your life changed! You won’t regret going to this conference!
I attended WLC during Week 6 of the 7 week run. Once in D.C. I was able to mingle with members from all across the country and attend sessions and small group meetings to learn about service, leadership, diversity and even myself. I also had the opportunity to develop my own Living To Serve (LTS) plan which includes the furthering of the message of agricultural education and FFA into our middle and elementary schools.
I also had the opportunity to tour the D.C. area and monuments including Arlington National Cemetery, The World War II Memorial, The Vietnam Memorial, Lincoln Memorial and many others. It was so great to be in our nation’s capital and take in all of the history of our great country. Everywhere we went there was something new to learn and reflect on. One of my favorite memories of WLC was attending reflections at the Marine Corp Memorial and getting to hear about the lives of the men who raised the flag on Iwo Jima, to hear about their lives leading up to that moment and after that moment, and the war, was over. It is truly amazing how their stories connected and what purposes they were called on to afterwards.
Our theme for the week was “To do what we can, with what we have, where we are.” While in D.C. we didn’t merely talk about service and how we have served and were going to serve once we got home. We rolled up our sleeves and got to work in a service project right there in Washington D.C! Collectively, all 300 members who attended Week 6 of the Washington Leadership Conference packed 41,000 pre-packaged meals to send to families in Nicaragua that very same week! It was so amazing to be a part of those 300 FFA members from all over the country and to know that we were doing what we could, with what we had, right there where we were in Washington D.C.
I definitely had an amazing time at the Washington Leadership Conference and know that my experiences while there have changed me. I would recommend to anyone who thinks they may want to go, to do it! Fill out the scholarship application and get ready to have your life changed! You won’t regret going to this conference!