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WSD Students Earn Medals and Scholarships at FCCLA State Leadership Conference
Students from Holt, Liberty, and Timberland high schools competed at the 73rd annual Missouri FCCLA (Family, Career and Community Leaders of America) State Leadership Conference, March 16-19, at Tan-Tar-A Resort in Osage Beach. More than 1,400 middle and high school students from across the state attended the student leader-planned conference, which featured speakers, workshops and competitions for FCCLA members. Out of the competitions, each WSD high school had a team qualify for the FCCLA National Leadership Conference, held June 30 – July 4, in Anaheim, California.
The conference featured speakers and workshops on topics such as preparing for college and careers, leadership skills, and traffic safety. In addition to leadership training, honors and recognition, more than 630 students participated in 30 competitive events, including early childhood education, entrepreneurship, culinary arts, fashion design, and more.
For Liberty, with teachers Sandy Pizzo and Nicole McFadden advising, juniors Katelyn Yoder, Emma Benesek and Audrey Chambers placed Top Gold in the category of Food Innovations, finishing first out of 18 teams from around the state, advancing to the national competition. Their project included creating an original recipe, hosting focus groups, refining the product, calculating nutritional value, producing packaging prototypes, and calculating profit margins - in addition to creating a presentation board and a 10-minute speech for judges. “This is a tremendous accomplishment, and Sandy and I are extremely proud of them,” said Nicole McFadden. “They won a trophy, certificates, and - should they choose to use it - a $16,000 scholarship each to Sullivan University in Louisville, Kentucky.”
Timberland’s FCCLA team of sophomore Matthew Mangin, and seniors Tyler Hansen and Logan Davidson received a bronze rating in Culinary Arts. In addition, senior Ashley Bertillo earned the Top Gold award in the "Say Yes, to FCS Education" competition and will be representing Timberland and Missouri at FCCLA National Leadership Conference for her category. Timberland’s team is advised by teachers Cheri Boren, Teresa Durbala, and Jennifer Caimi. Durbala noted, “We are proud of all Timberland FCCLA students, but we are especially proud of our future Family and Consumer Science teacher, Ashley Bertillo!”
Holt had students entered in three STAR event categories this year. Emma Kovath, Kaitlyn Sikes and Sara McFadden earned silver in Focus on Children. Mia Burke earned gold in Chapter Service Project Display. The Culinary Arts team of junior Eva Gannon, and seniors Rylie Miller and Taylor Boehme earned gold, placing second in the state. Not only are they invited to compete at the national level in June, but they were also awarded scholarships from three different schools in amounts up to $10,000. They are advised by teachers Lori Krug, Hali Hill, and Kim Voss.
FCCLA is a national student organization that promotes personal growth and leadership development through family and consumer sciences education. The Missouri association ranks fifth in the nation in membership with more than 9,800 members from 320 FCCLA chapters across the state.