Later this month, Elizabethtown Area High School (EAHS) will send two teams to the national FFA competition for the first time in almost 15 years.

Seniors Faith Musser and Mya Ellis, along with juniors Aleigh Shenk and Cami Lewis, will represent the school as members of the ag sales team. Seniors Calista Bryant, Kylie Hottenstein and Natalie Ott, along with junior Ellia Spang, will make up the floriculture team. They will be joined at the four-day competition in Indianapolis by their advisers, Mark Anderson, who coaches the floriculture team, and Stephen Geib, who coaches the ag sales team.

To qualify for nationals, both teams placed first at the state FFA competition in June.

"I think we went in with a lot of confidence, because we were really well prepared," said Faith. "We were confident we'd place in the top three, but when we won, we were surprised and excited."

At nationals, the ag sales team will sell Kubota skid steer loaders. "There are two different types of skid loaders and like 20 different types of attachments," Faith explained. "We have to find the best fit for whatever customer we're given." Team members will compete both individually and together, and the event will include both a written exam and a sales call to fix a customer concern or problem.

The floriculture team will complete a written test, make corsages or boutonnieres, create flower arrangements, identify plant diseases and more.

"We are preparing by memorizing a lot of different things," said Calista. "There is a lot of unknown with our competitions, but we've been practicing."

Calista, whose mother represented EAHS at nationals as part of a meat evaluation team, said FFA has provided both life skills and a potential career path.

"FFA opened a lot of doors for me," she said. "I never thought I would get into flowers, but I've worked at a greenhouse for three years now, and I love it." After graduation, she plans to attend West Virginia University to major in wildlife forensics.

Faith, who plans to attend Penn State Harrisburg to study agribusiness, agreed that FFA is about much more than farming.

"FFA really teaches an individual a lot of life skills that not only will they use to win competitions, but they'll use throughout their entire lives," she said. "We compete in a lot of public speaking events. We learn communication and networking skills. Even in a career where you're not directly connected to agriculture, you're still getting something out of your experience through FFA."

As president of the FFA club, Kylie said she's honed a variety of skills. "I've learned delegation, which is still hard to be honest," she said. "I've also gotten lifelong friends through FFA, and it's definitely a family that I cherish." After graduation, Kylie plans to participate in the Christian gap year program Miracle Mountain Ranch, work with horses and possibly pursue equine massage therapy as a career.

Natalie said she can't imagine her high school career without FFA. "I never felt like I fit in anywhere, to be honest, but then Faith and Kylie asked me to join FFA my freshman year, and I felt something click," she shared. "It was a community you could be yourself in and learn so many different things." Her post-high-school plans include attending Delaware Valley University to study landscape architecture.

Ellia joined FFA last year, not sure what to expect from the group. "It's been a great experience," she said. "The community in FFA is so welcoming. It doesn't matter who you are or what you like to do. We all come together, and we have fun together."

Although both teams hope to do well at nationals, the members are mostly focused on being in the moment.

"Our goal was to make it to nationals, so we all want to do well," said Kylie, "but for most of us, this will be our only chance at nationals, so we just want to enjoy the experience and take it all in."