Note to Our Readers: The following story was sourced directly from Miss Brittany Tucker, Faculty Sponsor, Booneville High School FCCLA. We thank Miss Tucker for sharing this story with our readers!
DENVER- Each year FCCLA conducts STAR (Students Taking Action with Recognition) Events at the Regional Level. We had 3 groups that competed in this year’s Regional STAR Event Competition on December 5th at Har-Ber High School. Camdyn Dove and Shelbie Myers competed in Interior Design – Level 3, Brooklyn Elmore competed in Job Interview – Level 3, and Kelsey Boersma and Kylie Lunsford competed in Focus on Children – Level 3.
With this being my first STAR Event competition to take students to, it was a little nerve-racking to try and make sure we had everything that the criteria wanted us to have for each of the projects. The organization sends out a list of all the things needed for the presentation and a rubric. You try your best to have everything included in your presentation. Not only do these students have to come up with a project based on the event they chose and the criteria they have to meet, but some have present to others before they present in front of the judges at the actual STAR Event competition.
Kelsey and Kylie chose Focus on Children as their event and had to construct a lesson to be taught to our 1st-grade students at our Elementary. They chose to teach our little ones about social-emotional learning. They created a project that was fun and brought the characters from Pixar’s Inside-Out movie to life. They taught the students what it means to be happy, sad, mad, scared, and disgusted, and how to appropriately communicate those emotions to adults. By the end of the lesson, the students were then allowed to color pictures based on the specific emotion they were feeling that day and add their thumbprint to Kelsey and Kylie’s project to be displayed at the Regional Competition. They had to present their presentation in front of 3 judges and a student judge. After their presentation, the judges were allowed to ask questions regarding the project and why they chose the topic that they did.
Camdyn and Shelbie’s project was strictly devoted to the Interior Design of an After-School Counseling program where students could go to hang out and receive individual and group counseling. They had to create the “Director’s Quarters” while also coming up with other elements to put in the building. They created a floor plan for this building that was used on their presentation board as well as mood boards, renderings of the director’s room, and samples of paint and flooring that they wanted to use in the building. They had to present their presentation in front of three judges and a student judge. The judges asked questions about their project once they were finished presenting.
Brooklyn Elmore competed in Job Interview, and much like it sounds, she was interviewed for her event. She chose a “job” that would be suitable for her age and something that she was qualified for. She had to create a portfolio of things like resumes, work history, samples of work experience, letters of recommendation from teachers and our principal, and many other things that would be found in a job interview. The judges looked over her portfolio before she was interviewed and then the interview process began.
At the Regional level, each group advanced to the State Level. Students are awarded medals based on their placements. Focus on Children received a Silver Medal, Interior Design received a Bronze, and Job Interview also received a Bronze. The top two from each event move on to the next competition. So we qualified for State in Hot Springs!
With this competition, you can make changes to your project based on the score sheets and critics that you get from Regionals and take that to the State Level, which is what we did. We improved our projects and tried to follow the rubrics the best way we could. On April 5th and 6th, we traveled to Hot Springs where we competed in the State Competition. The concept for the competition is the same but on a bigger scale. Each group took in their projects and presented them to their judges, and we waited out the results. This competition also takes the top two from each event to the National level. Our Focus on Children group placed Silver. Our Interior Design group placed Gold, and our Job Interview placed Gold. We qualified for Nationals in Interior Design!!
Now the fun part started. Seeing the amount of money that it was going to cost us to go to Denver was crazy. Airline tickets, hotels, food, transportation, it just seemed as though the bill just kept growing for the 6 of us to go. So the girls and I started collaborating and we decided to turn to our community for help. We created a sponsorship shirt that we would wear at Nationals with all of the awesome people that helped get us to the competition. We sold potted spring flowers, held a bake sale at the Senior/Faculty Softball game, our amazing school district let us host a “Jean Month” for our teachers, and we had many gracious donations from members of our community. Our sponsors were given a shirt and a thank you card as a sign of appreciation from us.
Before we knew it, Nationals Week was here. We flew to Denver and didn’t stop going once we got there. We attended Arkansas State Meetings with our fellow Arkansans. We attended several sessions throughout our stay and our general session where the FCCLA Executive Director welcomed over 7,900 members, advisors, corporate sponsors, and guests who are dedicated to discovering the unlimited possibilities available through FCCLA. We took part in the FCCLA Expo where we saw different exhibits that were brought to us by industry leaders, visited some shops that were available, and listened to RED talks as we walked around the Expo room. Now, we did a LOT of things with FCCLA while we were there, every day had something new to do and see, but we also explored Denver. I believe the girl’s favorite part of the trip was watching the sunrise at the Red Rock Amphitheater. We went to several malls and visited the Denver Botanical Gardens.
During the conference, Camdyn Dove and Shelbie Myers showcased their exceptional talent and dedication by participating in the Level 3 Interior Design competition. Their remarkable achievements are a testament to their hard work, determination, and the guidance of their advisor. The results of their partipation awarded them a Silver medal at the National Competition. We are so proud of both of them! Looking ahead, FCCLA will be hosting its next National Leadership Conference in Seattle, Washington from June 29 – July 3, 2024. For those interested in getting involved as a student, sponsor, or supporter please contact Brittany Tucker at Booneville High School.
