FCCLA, otherwise known as the Family, Career, and Community Leaders of America, is an organization that allows students to explore careers within family and consumer sciences. FCCLA is also used as a way for students to expand their leadership potential and be able to develop or expand their life skills.
The FCCLA State Conference will be held from April 12 to April 14 at Hilton Anatole, Dallas, TX with seven competitors and one regional representative attending from Azle.
The seven competitors:
– Kristina Birkeland
– Carla Caldera
– Skye Dickens
– Neo Garza
– Jasmine Valdez
– Daniel Villa
– Elizabeth Villafranca
The regional representative:
– Hannah Beck
“I joined FCCLA to give myself an outlet to express my leadership abilities,” junior Hannah Beck said. “I wanted a way that I can make a positive difference within myself, and to really challenge what kind of leader I can be.”
FCCLA additionally creates different opportunities that arise, allowing members to connect with the Azle community.
“[FCCLA] also allowed me to get volunteering work done such as painting the windows at Red’s Burger,” senior Mace Alonso said. “It was actually pretty fun and I like how active it keeps me in areas that I prioritize.”
From Feb. 29 – Mar. 2, Azle FCCLA members, as well as other schools from Region ll, attended the Regional conference to compete against one another at the Waco Convention Center.
The conference consists of students participating in different competitions where they split into different groups depending on the contest and carrying out similar practices that one may need from the four career pathways that FCCLA supports, ranging from the Texas Mystery Basket to Public Policy. Students are also able to interact with others who have similar interests and expand their current skills.
Through the competitions, students learn to adapt and gain some real-world experience such as cooking with unknown items.
“[The competition] is a mystery basket where, essentially, [coordinators] have a table full of spices, fruits, and vegetables and you get there with your supplies,” Alonso said. “You don’t know what kind of meat you are cooking and they will have a special ingredient you have to incorporate and it has to have a protein, a starch, and a green.”
Through competitions, students are able to expand their knowledge and skills to be more prepared for the future whether or not their future relates to parts of FCCLA.
“Me and Kristina are doing Public Policy Advocate,” senior Skye Dickens said. “[We are] talking to Tarrant Regional Water District representatives about their policies and how they should be more transparent with the public about them.”
On April 20 from 2 to 4 p.m., FCCLA students will hold a fashion show at Hope’s Bazaar Resale Shop on Main Street to fundraise for Future, Hope & Healing Center, a non-profit organization that strives to help victims of domestic violence, who will use the money toward opening a shelter that victims can go to in a time of need.
