After months of preparing and practicing, FCCLA (Family, Career, and Community Leaders of America) competitors went to Galveston for their first competition of the year.
FCCLA coaches Melissa Isaacs and Amanda Harter took 42 students and 14 teams to compete against over 2,000 participants from Region IV. Out of the 14 teams, 10 advanced to State. They will be travelling to Dallas to compete on April, 3, 2019.
“I’m super excited because I know that every member did their best, but I’m also sad when a team doesn’t make the top placement for the same reason,” sponsor Melissa Isaacs said. “I love winning as I’m a very competitive person, but knowing that we left it all there for the judges, and to see someone else shine brighter is very difficult to accept.”
There are a large number of events that students can compete in, ranging from Parliamentary events, to Star events, to National Programs in Action.
“I competed in Food Innovations Junior with my teammates Emma Adams and Saloni Jariwala,” freshman Omar Almeida said. “It gave me an opportunity to show my skills in the culinary field.”
Teams have been creating display boards, memorizing scripts, and brainstorming amazing ways to make their presentations perfect since fall.
“We’ve been collecting data, preparing, and putting everything together for our presentation since September,” senior Mykayla Dennix said. “The subject for our project was taking down tobacco use in school, including the use of vapes, juuls and smokeless tobacco.”
First-time competitors for FCCLA got their first taste of the competition, and were able to feel the experience firsthand.
“As a freshman, I was really nervous to compete, but I was also pretty confident in my team,” freshman Emma Adams said. “My whole team worked hard to get where we are now, and we’re ready to take on State.”
Nationals will take place in Anaheim, California this summer. FCCLA members must place either first or second in their event at State in order to advance to Nationals.
“It would mean a lot if we made it to Nationals because it just comes to show that as long as you put in the effort and you care about what you are doing, nothing is impossible,” sophomore Jorge Palafox said. “We’d also be able to bring light onto an issue that has been overlooked by many people.
