FRANKLIN — The Franklin FFA Chapter placed first in the state FFA’s socially distant State Land Judging Career Development Event on Nov. 4, and Franklin Senior High senior and team member Karina Lakhani was the overall highest scoring individual competitor at the event.

The Land Judging CDE is a competitive event testing students’ knowledge on various aspects of a given plot of land including soil texture, permeability, slope and erosion in order to determine its capability and best overall use.

As the state champion, the Franklin FFA Chapter as qualified for national competition in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, representing Louisiana FFA on a national level.

Team members include Alijah Johnson, Lakhani, Kaitlyn Marcotte and Victoria Walker.

Another Franklin FFA member, Ashlun Prince, was selected with 26 other high school seniors at the Ag Fellows 2020 event by the LSU College of Agriculture. Ag Fellows is one of the college’s premier initiatives to recognize and recruit top underserved scholars in the country.

Students, along with their parents, had the opportunity to visit with faculty, interact with current LSU students, meet with admission representatives and tour the LSU campus. Ten scholarships were awarded to students in attendance, including Prince, who plans to attend LSU to major in Animal Science—Pre-Vet.