FCCLA traveled to Lake of the Ozarks March 17-19 for their state level competition. Three students, freshman Shavon Kyem, sophomore Kierra Skillington and freshman Aubrianna Strong, received silver in their competitions and one student, senior Chase Nagel, received gold in her competition and will compete at nationals in Seattle June 29-July 3.
FCCLA stands for Family, Career and Community Leaders of America and is for students involved in Family and Consumer Sciences. FCCLA provides different resources and opportunities that allows members to find their passions and careers they can pursue. The numerous competitions members can participate in can lead to them developing interests and wanting to further their knowledge of said careers.
“Anyone who knows me knows I have wanted a career in science. However, this competition has shown me just how much of an influence baking has over my life. I have recently discovered a baking science program and I am exploring that option. FCCLA has opened a lot of doors for me and shown me a career path I wouldn’t think was otherwise possible,” Nagel said.
Nagel competed last year in the same event and received second place at state and eighth at nationals. This year she had more knowledge of the competition and what to expect because of what she experienced last year. She knew what methods would give the best results. She had more knowledge of oven temperatures, mixing methods that would affect her pastries, and has improved her cake decorating skills.
“I feel like I was a lot more prepared. Last year I didn’t really know what I was getting into, and it was all new,” Nagel said.
FCCLA has been growing for the past few years. They had a lot of members in 2019 but due to Covid they lost members and have had to work their way back up. They have gotten a lot of attention due to the volunteering they do, teacher luncheons, Coffee Friday’s and their success in competitions from previous years.
“Over the past couple of years we’ve been slowly trying to get the word out there more. I also think it helped having sent people to state last year and this year,” club sponsor Daniele Munzer said.
There are competitions for almost every job field that falls under FACS. Having this many competitions allows people to explore careers and get a glimpse of what they may do if they pursue said career. There are both team and individual events that can be competed in. Overall, the amount of events within FCCLA meets the need of anyone who is interested in joining and competing at competitions.
“There are nearly 30, there is something for almost everyone. Baking and cooking competitions, topics related to working with children, other related to fashion, and several related to nutrition and food promotion,” club sponsor Elizabeth Laley said.
