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FCCLA STAR Events Competition

By: Adison Poole

Two members of the GS FCCLA club were recently recognized for their contribution to the program and presented with awards at the FCCLA STAR Events Competition.

Senior Karma Schall was one of the two to receive the award and she spoke of her experience with the program. The other was senior Brenna Kohl, who also received an award at the event.

Kohl and Schall displaying their certificates at the STAR Event.

Photo Courtesy: Morgan Ferczak

“STAR stands for Students Taking Action and Recognition,” FCCLA advisor Mrs. Morgan Ferczak said. “Students are able to choose a variety of different events that are related to the family and consumer sciences.”

FCCLA stands for Family Career Community Leaders of America and is made up of hardworking students. The club gains several new members every year.

“The event I competed in is called the Public Policy Advocate,” Schall said. “This event allows you to pick any public policy you’d like and educate others on the information you’ve learned.”

Schall has been involved with FCCLA for three years throughout her high school career. She focused her project on the risk of drug use and spoke about overdose to educate others on the topic.

“For my project I first educated myself on the number of overdose deaths in the U.S. and the things that have been put in place to lower these deaths,” she said.

Schall explained that her project was an effort to lower deaths related to overdose in her area.

“I chose to educate others on the Good Samaritan law,” she said. “I did this by going to local businesses to educate them on this law with a flyer that had research as well as local recovery resources.”

Schall also provided the businesses with Narcan to keep within their facilities in case of an emergency.

There were several other members who attended the event.

GS’ FCCLA team at the STAR Event.

Photo Courtesy: Morgan Ferczak

“It was a great experience and a good way to get involved,” senior Reagan Sands said.

Schall is planning to go into a nursing program in the future and is using this award as a step in that direction. She spoke of the work that she has put into the program and mentioned how proud she is of each of her accomplishments.

“It felt amazing because of the work I put into this project,” Schall said. “My efforts to spread awareness have gone so much farther than I could have imagined.”

FCCLA State Leadership Conference and STAR Event

Posted on April 16, 2024 by gshslionsdenadmin

By Kerrick Shaw

Photo Courtesy: Mrs. Morgan Ferczak

GS FCCLA members were rewarded for their efforts in the State Leadership Conference and STAR Event.

On March 20^th, Students were recognized for their achievements and proficiency in chapter and individual attributions such as projects, leadership skills and career preparation.

“FCCLA means ‘Family, Career and Community Leaders of America,’” Dr. Tiffany Smietana-Lysell, GS FCCLA Advisor of 5 years, said. “It’s a leadership organization for grades five through twelve … it focuses on personal development with students while doing community service and planning for their future.”

They participated in the STAR state competition, which stands for “Students Taking Action and Recognition.”

State leaderboard placements are determined using a point system with 90 through 100 earning Gold, 75 to 89 earning Silver and the remainder earning bronze. The more points a student earns, the higher up they are on the leaderboard.

Three students qualified for nationals, each earning Gold in their respective categories: junior Lisa Leeman in National Programs in Action, junior Karma Schall in Chapter Service Display and junior Brenna Kohl in Chapter Service Display.

Photo Courtesy: Mrs. Morgan Ferczak

“It’s given me the opportunity to be more involved in the community, helping me with paying more attention to what other people need,” Kohl said. “We all try to tag team helping out in any way that we can.”

Juniors Emily Ruggeri and Azreal Franklin earned Silver in Event Management and Professional Presentation, respectively.

Along with them, junior Thomas Kohl was awarded for student timekeeper and voting delegate.

All preparation and work that comes before the competition is primarily done outside of school, with their efforts being just as rigorous as what senior projects bring, according to Dr. Smietana-Lysell.

Although everything is student led, the Advisors are able to keep them going in the right direction.

“As Advisors, we act as guides and a resource for our student leaderships and officers,” Mrs. Morgan Ferczak, GS FCCLA Advisor of 3 years, said. “We work with our administration to do fundraising and events; we also make sure we can get in contact with our state and national representatives.”

Students who made nationals will be attending the National Leadership Conference in Seattle this summer from June 29^th through July 3^rd.

The conference is an opportunity for them to work with other members and Advisors from across the nation, as well as working with industry experts to further explore their career paths.

“They did amazing, all placing Gold and Silver,” Dr. Smietana-Lysell said. “Azreal took third place in the whole state. … Karma and Brenna made second place … and Lisa got first in all of Pennsylvania. It was all absolutely remarkable.”