When Conversations Become Connections

How many people do you think you have met in your life?

For the past two weeks I have been traveling to schools around the state for district kickoffs! This week I was facilitating a workshop on connections and conversations, and it has had me thinking a lot about how connections truly shape our lives. 

During this workshop, after one of the activities I mentioned the “Six Degrees of Separation” theory. This theory states that any two people on Earth can be connected through a chain of social connections with at most six steps. 

Only six people. That’s it.

This is such a crazy theory to me because it makes so much sense. Everyone on this Earth knows thousands of other people. 

Think about the amount of people you have talked to in your life. After the past two weeks, my number has gone up by over 1,500. In just two short weeks I have come in contact with over 1,500 new people and traveled even more miles across the state. Meeting all of these new people and finding out some of their goals, passions, and ambitions through my workshop really put into perspective how unique each and every one of us is because at the end of this week, no two people’s goals, passions, and ambitions were exactly the same. 

By connecting with new people, we are opened up to a whole new and unique set of ideas, values, and perspectives. These connections can challenge our way of thinking and open us up to a large world of new ideas.  

One class that particularly stuck out to me this week was the Principles of Agriculture class at William Henry Harrison High School in District IV. Now for this class being at 7:30 in the morning, these students were so eager and ready to learn. Throughout our workshop on connections and conversations, we created opportunity cards. These cards included a goal that each person wanted to achieve and two people that would help them get there. While we were working on these cards, I took a moment to walk around and ask about their goals. This was a group of students with numerous unique passions. Chris wanted to work on his skills as a magician, Aiden wanted to work hard in school to get good grades, Ethan wanted to become more confident in sharing his faith, Adrian wanted to finish restoring his pickup truck, and Monica wanted to become a vet one day. Although these students were all sitting in the same classroom, they each had things that made them unique, and they were connected by the mere fact that they had all ended up in that agriculture class together. 

On my way to my next visit of the day, I found myself still thinking about the students I had connected with that morning. By taking thirty seconds to ask about their passions, I was able to connect with a whole group of new people that I hadn’t even known when I woke up that morning.

The experiences I have had and the people that I have met over this past week have been nothing short of exceptional and have opened my eyes to the real value of being authentic and sharing my passions with other people. In addition, it has reemphasized the importance of caring about the people that I am around and prioritizing taking the time to talk to them. 

This week, I challenge you to take time, even as little as thirty seconds, to ask someone what they are passionate about. You might be surprised at where this conversation leads you. With just a little time and effort, even the simplest conversations can grow into meaningful connections.

Passionately,

Kaitlyn Maruszewski

2025-2026 Indiana FFA State President

Reading the Land, Living the Lesson

During my years as a member of my FFA chapter, one of my favorite parts was competing in

CDEs, especially the soils judging contest. There’s just something about digging into the earth

and trying to understand and describe what the soil is telling you.

A few weeks ago, I had the chance to compete at the Farm Progress Soils Judging Contest. I’ll

admit it took a little persistence with Mrs. Chaudion to make it happen, but I’m glad she let me

do it. The funny part? I showed up without any of my tools. I didn't have a slope finder, color card, water bottle, or even a knife. Despite all that, I still managed to place fourth overall. It was a great reminder that all the knowledge I learned years ago hadn’t left me. It was still there just waiting to be put to use.

The following week, I got the chance to help the Principles of Agriculture class critique a soil

pit. I decided to make it fun and engaging because let’s face it, soil can teach you a lot if you

are willing to learn it. That’s something my advisor, Mr. Jim Wildermuth, always says.

He taught me to treat soil with respect and even personality. For example, you always introduce

yourself by saying, “Hello, beautiful soil.” When teaching texturing, he’ll tell the freshman class

and my teammates to ribbon and squeeze it, “like it owes you money.” And of course, he'd always

end with Wildermuth’s good old saying:

“Soils are beautiful, they smell great, and they never lie.”

Just like in life, good parent material in soil, is essential for building a strong foundation. The

strongest roots come from the best beginnings, and I have come to believe the same is true with

people. The foundations we build in life, trust, respect, hard work, and kindness, are the ones

that last forever. Whether it’s in agriculture, education, or relationships, the foundation you build

influences everything that develops from it and how you pass it along to others.

It’s moments like these that remind me why soils judging has stayed with me all these years. It’s

never just been about a contest, it’s about learning to understand the land, creating memories

with others, and appreciating the value of strong foundations, both in the soil and in life.

I’ll end this blog with a verse from the book of Luke that captures that idea perfectly:

"But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word,

retain it, and by persevering produce a crop" — Luke 8:15

Stay Wismatic,

Jesus Santana

2025-2026 Indiana FFA State Sentinel

From Bickering to Bonding

"STOP IT, NICK! I don’t care if you want to play with my GameBoy just because yours died.”

“JUST GIVE IT TO ME!” Nick yelled.

That was a pretty typical car ride soundtrack for me and my brother growing up.

Nick is my older brother, and he was (and still is) obsessed with Pokémon. But even on days that were supposed to be fun, like our annual trip to Dougherty’s Orchard, we usually found something to argue about.

Despite the bickering, the orchard was always a place of joy. I have so many memories of visiting—petting the animals, grabbing a warm apple donut, and picking up apples and cider for our grandma. As we got older, life got busier and those trips became harder to plan, but somehow we always made it happen.

This year is different. It is the first time both Nick and I have officially moved out of the house. And as much as I never thought I would say it, especially not on a public platform, I miss him.

Even though we still made it to Dougherty’s, it took planning and calendars and text reminders. But when we got there, we did all the same things. Visiting the petting zoo, eating apple donuts, and picking apples for grandma. And yet, what I enjoyed most was not the food or the animals, but simply spending time with my brother.

We had 13 years under the same roof, and I never truly appreciated it until now. I cannot go back and change the past, but I can choose how I value my time with him moving forward.

Today, we are closer than ever. I text him updates about my life as a state officer, what I am cooking for my teammates, and which schools I have visited. We still joke and still annoy each other, but now, I treasure the moments more than ever.

Quality time is one of life’s greatest gifts. Do not take it for granted.
Even if your siblings drive you nuts, enjoy your time with them. Because someday, as wild as it sounds, you will miss them, even the bickering.

Embrace the moment,

Jenna Lawler

2025-2026 Indiana FFA State Reporter

Home Is Where the Heart Is

A couple weekends ago I was able to finally go with my family to a horse pull (it’s like a tractor pull but with horses), which I had been waiting for all summer. My family raises and pulls Belgian horses. I love going to horse pulls. The smell of dirt and sweat drifting through the air. The anticipation of how heavy the load can get and who’s going to win is thick in the atmosphere. Seeing all the regular horse pullers and their families is always something I look forward to but my favorite part is when I get to help hitch. This is where we hook the horses to the sled so that they can pull it 27.5 feet. This may not sound like much, but the horses are excited and ready to go. Anyone who hitches has to be fast on their feet and aware of the horse's every move. I love the adrenaline rush and feeling of satisfaction getting them hooked on the first try.

For the first time this summer, I was finally able to hitch. I hadn’t been able to because I was too busy to go to any pulls. When the pull finally lined up with my schedule, I was so excited! I told my dad, “I don’t care what else I do this weekend, but I want to hitch.” As my dad’s best friend and I were getting ready to hitch, he looked at me and said, “It’s good to have ya back, Lil.” And I said, “This is the only thing I wanted to do this weekend.” 

Throughout the rest of the pull, I saw the community that I had around me. Not only my dad’s friends but even the horse pullers he had never talked to. After every pull, someone would say, “That was a good pull, Zac,” or “That’s some mighty fine help you’ve got!” And when another horse puller was having trouble getting the horses on the sled, everyone would jump up to help.

Home is where the heart is. Although this might just be a cliché, it’s true. At the horse pull that day, none of us were related but we all had heart for what we were doing, and that made it home. I encourage you to find your home and community whether that be through FFA, school, work, hobbies, or your family because those are the people who become your home.

See ya around,

Lily Sloan

2025-2026 Indiana FFA State Treasurer