News

FCCLA Regional Results Recap

Kaylee Sweno, reporter|February 8, 2022

FCCLA members competed in their first round of competition on February 4th with hopes of advancing to state.

Through FCCLA, students create a project and compete in three different levels of competition. Their first step is the regional competition in La Crosse. Black River Falls High School brought 19 members to the competition this year with hopes of advancing to state. All of the students prepared a STAR (Students Taking Action with Recognition) project of their choice. They were about community service, financial literacy, parliamentary procedure, and more. These students started their projects at the beginning of the year, and it was their time to shine last Friday.

“Preparing for regionals was something that was pretty tricky. For our project, it was mostly just knowing the rules of parliamentary procedure, so we just practiced a lot, but since our group was so big, it was sometimes hard to all meet together to practice,” junior David Becker said.

At competitions, students talk about the project they carried out and how it fits into FCCLA. Many students have a personal connection to their project, motivating them to compete. Sophomores Kaylei Sutton and Charlie Severson did just that. Sutton found out that her niece had cancer in 2021 and wanted to raise awareness. She realized that FCCLA allowed her to make a difference in the community for her niece.

“I found out my niece had cancer in early 2021, and when I found out, I wanted to do something to raise awareness for childhood cancer. Charlie and I decided to hold a fundraiser, and after talking to everyone about it, we decided it would be great to put FCCLA out there and get back into being a part of the club. So we figured we could turn the fundraiser into a project,” Sutton said.

The first round of the competitions can be challenging. Students have to speak in front of judges and answer questions on the spot. It is also the first deadline for completing their project.

“The most challenging part for students is getting all parts of the project complete and being able to write and present about it,” adviser Sarah Halverson said.

To qualify for the state competition in April, competitors must receive a score of 80 or higher. Students follow rubrics, practice their speeches, and carry out their projects to meet the criteria. Even with the preparation, students still worry about what could go wrong. Students face nerves and fear not advancing to the next level.

“The thing I was most worried about was probably that I was going to mess up in some way or that we forgot something important that would cause us not to get a good score,” Sutton said.

After waiting all day, the results came in for the groups. Black River Falls performed well, and 17 members advanced to the state competition. One of the judges provided a comment after hearing many of the BRF presentations.

“I had the pleasure of judging the FCCLA competition, and I wanted to write to commend your students for such impressive presentations. You have a strong culture of success at BRF as your students were well prepared, clearly articulated, and were cool under pressure. I wish them luck at the next level of competition,” the judge shared.

The road for most doesn’t end here. The competitors will now take the feedback and prepare for the state competition at the Kalahari in April. To advance past the state level, they need to be one of the two highest scores in their category and age group. Even if students don’t qualify, competing alone is something to be proud of.

“I am very proud of every one of our FCCLA members for going above and beyond to try and make a difference in our school, community, and families. Public speaking is not a favorite of most people, but the more you do it, the better you become at it. Step out of your comfort zone and be a leader,” Mrs. Halverson said after the competition.

Results:

Chapter Service Project Display: