Lee’s Summit North students win state level awards at STAR events
Posted by GSDispatch Editor in by Lee’s Summit R7 School District, Edu
One student moves on to compete at nationals in California
Seven students from Lee’s Summit North attended the 2011 Missouri Family, Career and Community Leaders of America State Leadership Conference, March 27–29 at the Holiday Inn Select Executive Center in Columbia. The delegates from across the state represented over 12,000 members of Missouri FCCLA.
LSNHS students attending the conference were Nia Anderson, Melanie Cooper, Ashlyn Horton, Leah Horton, Kelsey Knutson, Tyffani Porter and Imani Williams. Chapter advisors Ann Pike and Allison Brown also attended, and Tyffani Porter attended the conference to represent region 14 as the 2011-2012 regional treasurer.
FCCLA winners (from left) are Nia Anderson, Imani Williams and Kelsey Knutson.
Three LSNHS students competed at the regional level and won the right to represent region 14 through their STAR Events at the state level. STAR Events (Students Taking Action with Recognition) are competitive events in which members are recognized for proficiency and achievement in chapter and individual projects, leadership skills and career preparation. STAR events offer individual skill development and application of learning.
Nia Anderson and Imani Williams competed as a team in the “Hospitality, Tourism, and Recreation” STAR event. This event recognizes participants who demonstrate knowledge of the hospitality, tourism and recreation industries and who demonstrate ability to translate their knowledge into a hypothetical or real business. Projects must relate to culinary, lodging, recreation, tourism or an event. For their project, Nia and Imani created a business plan, website and portfolio outlining a restaurant of their own creation. They presented their website and business plan to a panel of judges, completed a case study on site, and fielded questions from judges. They competed against other state qualifiers from across the state and received a silver medal. They also scored the highest score of all the Hospitality, Tourism and Recreation competitors competing at state.
Kelsey Knutson competed in a new STAR event called “Leadership.” This event recognizes participants who actively evaluate and grow in their leadership potential. Participants investigate their leadership ability and develop a mentorship relationship to further their leadership development. Kelsey’s project centered around her mentorship of two FCCLA students who wanted to become more involved. While mentoring these students, Kelsey completed leadership inventories and a portfolio of written reflections about her experiences. She gave an oral presentation to a panel of judges and answered questions about her experience. Kelsey received a gold medal at the State level and will be representing Missouri at the FCCLA National Leadership Conference in Anaheim, Calif., where she will compete against students from across the nation.
The conference centers on the student–developed theme “Roll Out the Red Carpet of Leadership” and included speakers and workshops on topics such as preparing for college and careers, stress management skills, bullying prevention and technology’s impact in education, careers and on the family. In addition to leadership training, honors and recognition, nearly 700 students participated in 34 competitive events, including entrepreneurship, culinary arts, job interviews, preparation for careers in education, chapter service projects, and many others.
Family, Career and Community Leaders of America is a career and technical student organization for young men and women in family and consumer sciences education. Since 1945, FCCLA members have been making a difference in their families, careers, and communities by addressing important personal, work, and societal issues. Missouri FCCLA ranks fourth in the nation in membership with over 12,000 members. There are 373 FCCLA chapters across the state.
