Established in 2006 at Shawnee High School, the club Family Career and Community Leaders of America plans and facilitates projects that help students actively serve in their community. This past summer, students from the school joined more than 8,500 others at the FCCLA National Leadership Conference in San Diego from Saturday, July 2 through Friday, July 8, with all six of them placing nationally.
FCCLA is a national career and technical student organization that provides personal growth, leadership development and career preparation opportunities for students in family and consumer sciences education. Its mission is to promote personal growth and leadership development through education, while focusing on character development, creative and critical thinking, interpersonal communication, practical knowledge and career preparation.
The goal of the annual, national conference is to enable student participants to network with fellow members, attend FCCLA programs, workshops and leadership session and to compete in Students Taking Action with Recognition events. STAR events are competitive events in which members are recognized for proficiency and achievement in chapter and individual projects, leadership skills and career preparation.
Seeing as FCCLA colors are red, black and white, students at the event proudly showed off their matching red blazers, and were also invited to participate in a Run 4 Red 5k Walk and Run with proceeds from the event going toward the Unite in Red Blazer Fund. The week-long conference concluded with a fireworks display to celebrate the Fourth of July.
“This is the ninth year that FCCLA members from Shawnee and myself have attended a national conference,” Kathleen Ware, family and consumer sciences teacher and FCCLA adviser, said. “The students must earn first place in their STAR event in the state of New Jersey to be able to qualify to go to the National FCCLA Leadership Conference.”
Of those who earned recognition, Alexa Giannini received a gold medal for placing second in the nation in fashion construction, and Nicole Ware and Cassandra Bodendorf received a gold medal for Chapter in review manual. Additionally, Colin DeVico earned a gold medal in food innovations, Courtney Kaiser received a silver medal for promote and publicize, and Reagan Feudtner received a bronze medal in interior design.
“Winning my gold medal at FCCLA Nationals in San Diego this past summer was honestly a dream come true, and coming in second in the nation was the ultimate reward for all my hard work,” Giannini said. “Because it was my final year participating in FCCLA, the trip was bittersweet, and I give credit to FCCLA and Mrs. Ware for shaping me into who I am today. I miss Mrs. Ware and FCCLA every day, but the joy I got from them was amazing and I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”
Throughout the remainder of this year, the Shawnee FCCLA chapters plan and facilitate Safe Trick or Treat, Character Counts Week and Read Across America. Members also contribute to the community by volunteering at food shelters and food banks, donating to the Ronald McDonald House, battered women’s shelters, animal shelters and more.
“I am so proud of my FCCLA students,” Ware said. “Not only are they successful in their competitive events, they also exhibit and demonstrate outstanding character. My favorite part [of my involvement] is watching my FCCLA students grow into outstanding leaders in our school and community.”
Continuing its community efforts before next year’s national conference, the Shawnee branch of FCCLA plans to expand its community service projects, increase its membership, offer a variety of leadership opportunities, inform members of the expansive opportunities and participate in additional leadership conferences. Each year, the location of the national conference changes, and next year it will be held in Nashville, Tenn., in July.
