Bolin
An Indian Creek High School graduate was appointed as an FFA State Officer at the 95th Indiana FFA State Convention.
The Indiana FFA State Officer team consists of seven high school graduates who will defer their education for one year to serve as youth ambassadors.
Garrett Bolin was elected as FFA Sentinel after an extensive interview process, said Joseph Dunn, Indian Creek FFA Advisor. After serving his year, Bolin will attend Purdue University and pursue a degree in integrated business and engineering.
Bolin is the seventh Indian Creek student to be elected state officer, and the second in the last three years, Dunn said. Class of 2022 graduate Tobias Sturgell is the other recent alumni to serve.
It’s unique to have so many students from one school be selected when there are over 350 Ag teachers with over 175 Ag programs and FFA chapters in the state, he said.
To be considered for a state office, Bolin had to turn in a supervised agricultural experience, or SAE, submit his cover letter and resume and have three letters of recommendation. In June, each candidate went through rounds of interviews with the nominating committee.
A slate is selected and has to be approved at the State Convention, Bolin said. There is always a chance that a slate could fail to pass. He said he didn’t think he was selected when he received the slip of paper with the slate. The piece of paper was folded and the position for Sentinel is at the bottom. It was hard to see his name, he said.
When he finally realized, however, he hugged his advisor Dunn and cried. Having a support system in Dunn at Indian Creek “meant the world” to Bolin, he said.
On paper, Bolin didn’t have the same credentials as his peers. The other candidates had been district officers or held officer positions in the past, while he hadn’t. Bolin is his own biggest critic too, he said. But, Bolin did “everything he possible could to support” Indian Creek FFA, Dunn said.
His heart for the organization is what will make him a great state officer, Dunn told Bolin before the interview rounds. Everyone can say they love FFA, but Bolin embodies that love.
“It was something different about Garrett,” Dunn said. “There’s just something different, a sense of belonging, a sense of love for everyone that wears that blue corduroy jacket that was definitely different.”
Knowing all he has been through and how hard he worked to become a state officer made the moment emotional, Bolin said.
While waiting for the slate to be approved, all of the candidates sat in a separate room anxiously, he said. When someone finally entered the room waving their arms, they knew the slate had been approved.
All he remembers after that is accidentally being hit in the face with someone’s shoes, he laughed.
“I think that emotion was just looking back on those times where I felt like I had fallen short and in the end, none of that mattered,” Bolin said.
In December he will be doing business and industry visits across the state.
Seeing different places and different perspectives is something Bolin looks forward to as a state officer, he said. He hopes to encourage others in the same way he was encouraged by his mentors and peers.
He wants to show others who are their own biggest critics that they can still achieve great things even when they feel like they are falling short, he said. He also looks forward to building connections across the state, living with the other officers in Trafalgar and an officer trip to Washington D.C.
