ROCK HALL — Members of the Kent County High School FFA chapter had an amazing experience on their trip this fall to Indianapolis, Ind. for the youth agricultural organization's national convention.

At a Tuesday Nov. 29 Kent County Board of Education meeting, students Will Goetz, Delany Jewell, Emma Morris­­­­ and Stephanie Hogan reported on their convention trip.

The students had gone before the board in September and received permission to attend the FFA National Convention held Oct. 25 to 29 in Indianapolis.

Their presentation Nov. 29 included photos from their trip with the students speaking about how much they took away from it.

"It was an amazing experience just to walk in there with so many people who all share the same experiences as us," said KCHS FFA Vice President Stephanie Hogan. "And there were so many different colleges that you got to explore."

Also on the trip was Liza Goetz, the former KCHS agriculture teacher. She is the mother of KCHS FFA President Will Goetz.

At the Nov. 29 board meeting, Liza Goetz spoke about the eye-opening experience of watching the format KCHS students use for their local FFA meetings applied at the convention level with 70,000 participants.

The convention included leadership workshops and the KCHS students participated in a service activity with the Humane Society of Indianapolis.

The students told the board Nov. 29 about meeting fellow FFA members from all around the country and getting to explore Indianapolis.

Will Goetz said it was very interesting to have conversations with FFA members from North Dakota to Hawaii, Puerto Rico to Maine, where he joked that they talked a lot about maple syrup.

KCHS agriculture teacher Jennifer Kuhl-Depp said the trip gave students an opportunity to expand their learning experiences beyond the classroom.

"I think they learned a lot. They got to get out of their bubble a little and to see kids from all over the country," Kuhl-Depp said.