Abigail Kestle

Chances are, you’ve heard of the theatre students attending Thescon or FFA going to another convention around school. Despite hearing these conversations in passing, do you really know what a convention is or why teachers take their students time and time again? If you’re asking yourself these questions, don’t worry, I am too. As someone who is going to their first ever convention in April, I wanted to find out why conventions were so important to both students and teachers. So, I started asking around.
For some students like senior and Key Club president Abigail Neulinger, going to conventions is a way for them to connect with their team members in a different environment while also working on personal development to help them further personal growth.
“I hope to connect with Key Club members throughout the state as well as building my leadership qualities at the state level and the individual level,” said Neulinger.
A different way to benefit from these events is to connect with people outside of your school who share similar interests. Thespian Carter Chance is an avid Thescon-goer who speaks to the unique connection between like-minded students.
“I think the best part [of Thescon] was just meeting other students from other high schools that love the same thing that you do and are passionate about the things that you love,” said Chance.
Yearbook advisor Janice Webb reiterates this idea. She believes that conferences are beneficial for the students because they can see the diversity within different schools, all while having the common goal of producing a yearbook. Conventions are not only for students to be able to meet with those outside of their normal circle, but also to learn from those with a higher level of expertise while having fun in the process.
“I am just one person with one viewpoint for them [her students] to learn from and to bounce ideas off of whenever we’re in my classroom. When we’re able to go to the workshops that are provided by Alyssa, who’s our Walsworth rep, we’re able to learn from her areas of expertise, along with learning from other advisors from other schools and other yearbook staffs from other schools,” said Webb. “It’s generally a lot of fun and hands-on and my students get to experience some team building and some growth outside of the regular classroom, because when we’re putting together a yearbook, it’s work, work, work, so it’s nice to have fun, too.”
While asking questions around Rolla High School, I found that an important function of conventions is hands-on work. Both Webb and Agriculture teacher Cord Jenkins speak to the improvement in their students’ education through interactive projects.
“For us in career and tech ed, it is exactly the model of education for us because we are hands-on learning, we’re experiential learning. So, whenever I can take students and let them experience or see what it is that we’re learning about in class, their education is going to be that much better,” said Jenkins.
Though I was already extremely excited to go to my first ever convention, this new information has only heightened my anticipation. Conventions are a place to enhance areas of expertise while bonding with students who share those passions and I, personally, can’t wait to go. Passion, workshopping, networking? Sign me up.