Six students from the Fort Thomas Independent Schools earned distinguished recognition at the Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) national competition in Anaheim, California, this summer.
To qualify, the students were required to win the regional competition in a particular category and place either first or second at the state level in Louisville, according to chapter advisor Ahren Wagner, a Family and Consumer science teacher at Highlands High School.
“These students are building so much in the way of confidence,” said Wagner. “Talking in front of their peers and making presentations has become something very comfortable for them to do.”
Highlands High School student Ashley Coulter landed a Gold Medal and third place honors (out of 19 national qualifiers) in the “Nutrition and Wellness” category. For thirty days, Ms. Coulter set a personal goal to adopt the vegan diet and documented the benefits and side effects of embarking on a new nutrition path. This is her second year competing at the national level.
The group of Casey Race, Megan Stevens, and Bree Mohr, also HHS students, earned a Silver Medal in the “Promote and Publicize FCCLA” competition. The trio compiled a digital portfolio that documented and advertised what the Highlands chapter of FCCLA accomplished throughout the year.
Highlands Middle School student Kathleen Price, an incoming freshman at HHS, won a Gold Medal and a third-place ranking nationally (out of 45 competitors) for her creativity and execution as it pertains to environmental consciousness. For her “Recycle and Redesign” entry, Ms. Price used old grocery store plastic bags and created a dress out of the materials.
And Addy Wagner, also an incoming freshman at Highlands, won a Gold Medal and a third-place finish (out of 31 entries) in “Sports Nutrition”. For one of her friends on the dance team, Ms. Wagner developed a hydration and meal plan to enhance the prospects for optimal performance while dancing competitively in a studio. But the plan can be adopted by any athlete, and it is Wagner’s second trip to the national conference.
“We’ve got students coming into high school that, as freshmen, have experiences and community service to put on their resumes that are on par with what you would normally see from seniors,” Wagner said.
Wagner added that FCCLA did a fabulous job organizing the national conference. The Fort Thomas contingent explored Disneyland on their own, soaked up the Knott’s Berry Farm experience, took a bus tour of Los Angeles and enjoyed the 4th of July fireworks from a hotel not far from the Disneyland theme park.
“We were wearing our FCCLA shirts and it was great to see how confidently our students could explain exactly what we were doing to anyone who asked,” Wagner said.
