A team of students from Santa Fe High School’s FFA chapter recently won the coveted Gold Emblem at the national FFA Agricultural Issues Forum Leadership event in Indianapolis.

The Santa Fe team was one of eight to win the Gold Emblem, the first time a team from SFHS has earned the award since 1990. Students developed a presentation to answer audience questions on local agricultural issues from a panel of expert judges.

The SFHS team members included Taylor Trosper, Anna Seals, Layla Parris, Bryli Kuhn, Savannah Eckert, Leila Ceilley and Taylor Batten. The team focused on the impact bottling water has on agriculture in this area.

The team conducted multiple local forums and presented to interested community stakeholders that included the Alachua County Department of Environmental Protection, the Florida Springs Institute and the Alachua County Farm Bureau.

The students qualified for the national competition after taking first place at the Florida state competition in June.

Brian Skipper, FFA sponsor and director of SFHS’s Academy of Veterinary Assisting, said winning the Gold Emblem was the culmination of a lot of hard work.

“The students put in countless hours researching their top, creating a script, developing their presentation and practicing answering questions,” he said. “Because of this contest, they are all able to find reliable sources on topics, speak in front of large groups and write academic papers. They will be better prepared to participate in all aspects of our society as adults because of their experiences they had working on this team.”