Seven Family Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) students qualified for the National Leadership Conference by scoring in the top two in each of their competitive event categories in the state of Georgia this past school year.
“Qualifying for nationals means that students will take their projects that they have been working on since October 2019, and compete against students from across the entire United States,” Adviser Lauren Owenby said.
The students who qualified, along with Owenby, had intended to travel to Washington, D.C., July 5 for the National Conference.
However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the conference was held virtually this year.
“This created a new challenge for our students,” Owenby said. “Instead of competing in front of a panel of judges, our students were required to record their presentations and upload electronic copies of their projects and portfolios.”
The students’ projects and presentations were scored by judges from across the nation and students waited to hear the outcome of their projects on the last day of the virtual conference.
“Each of the students represented Fannin County High School very well,” Owenby said.
The following students, their grade, their project title and their final placing are as follows:
•Sydney Tarpley, Junior, Career Investigation, Gold Medal, 3rd place in the nation;
•Anna Rhodes and Gracie Stewart, Freshmen, Chapter Service Project Portfolio Level 2, Gold Medal, 1st place in the nation;
•Alexis Hill, Junior, and Bailey Pettit, Sophomore, Chapter Service Project Portfolio Level 3, Gold Medal, 4th place in the Nation;
•Isabella Tocci, Junior, Interpersonal Communications, Silver Medal, 10th place in the nation; and,
•Sierra Reynolds, Junior, Say YES to FCS Education, Gold Medal, 1st place in the nation.
“I am incredibly proud of these students,” Owenby said. “Their commitment and ability to willingly adapt to new challenges is quite impressive. They have worked diligently on these projects since October 2019.
“While I am disappointed for them that their trip to nationals was canceled, I am thankful that they were still willing to put forward their best work, all of which payed off in the end by earning these medals.”