FCCLA senior members Maddie Rue, Ashley Gallagher and Allye Brilliante, along with junior Bailey Stone and sophomores Arielle Rodriguez and Brianna Elias, competed at the STAR (Students Taking Action with Recognition) district competition on Feb. 12-13. Placing in the top six spots, all contenders will move on to the state competition in Dallas on April 8-9.  

“It was really challenging to compete and get out of my comfort zone,” Gallagher said. “I really like seeing myself grow in different ways throughout it.”

STAR competitions are held for students in the club and recognize individuals for their achievements in occupational preparations, leadership skills and projects throughout the year.

“It was really fun to create our projects,” Rue said. “We are all very passionate about the topics we chose to base our work on.”

The competitions include a variety of categories for students to show off what they have worked on for scholarships, awards and regarding career goals. Some examples of chapter service project include display, interior design, entrepreneurship, culinary, career investigation and recycle and redesign,which are just few or the many categories available for an FCCLA member to compete in.

“Getting to make my own business plan for entrepreneurship was a cool experience,” Gallagher said. “I hope to be a dietician and open up that business idea.”

Rue and Stone came in first place in the chapter service project display category for making and presenting a poster board that contained information over mental health week that was held on Nov. 9-13. Brillante came in second in Job Interviewing with Ashley coming in second for Entrepreneurship. Elias and Rodriguez received fourth place in Illustrated Talk.

“Our goal was to bring awareness to mental health,” Rue said. “I loved getting to make a project that other people can learn from and relate to.”

 STAR events are in place to provide meaningful opportunities in personal growth, family life, career preparation and community involvement. Each event is designed to help students develop lifetime skills in planning, goal setting, decision making, communication techniques and leadership.

“I am looking forward to competing again in state,” Stone said. “I can’t wait to see how our project does against tougher competition.”