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   The Ord FCCLA Chapter recently attended the Nebraska State FCCLA Leadership Conference on April 7-9, 2024 in Lincoln, NE. At the conference, Ord had 11 students in attendance. Over 100 Nebraska FCCLA Chapters were in attendance with over 1,500 student members. FCCLA stands for Family, Career, and Community Leaders of America and is a national student-led organization. 
   At the conference, students had the opportunity to attend break-out sessions to better their leadership and communication skills and network with future colleges, employers and organizations at the FCCLA Opportunity Fair. Ord FCCLA Students also attended a guided tour of HUDL and got to network with employers and business leaders. The keynote speaker was Coach VJ, a sports psychologist and motivational speaker focusing on unleashing your confidence to reach new heights in student organizations.  
   On Monday of the conference, five students had the opportunity to compete in STAR Projects at the State Level. STAR stands for Students Taking Action with Recognition. The students that participated in STAR Projects have been diligently working on their projects for months and their hard work has paid off. At state, students who participate in STAR Projects have the opportunity to compete for a spot to present and compete at the National FCCLA Leadership Conference this summer in Seattle, Washington. Our chapter qualified all of our participants in STAR Projects for the National Leadership Conference this summer. 
   In March, our chapter had also found out that we had an additional group of students qualify in Online STAR Event Projects for the National Leadership Conference as well, bringing our total number of nationally qualifying students to eight students, which is the most students the Ord FCCLA Chapter has qualified in chapter history. 
   To qualify for Nationals in the regular STAR Event Projects at state, students must receive at least a silver medal and be champion or runner-up in their event and level. In the Online STAR Event Projects, students submit an online link to their project for evaluation and are judged against every chapter in the United States. The top 15 projects in the nation are then invited and qualify to present at the National Leadership Conference. 
   The students who qualified and participated in STAR projects this year include the following: Alyssa Lawrence, Carmen Wager and Katrina Cassell - State Champion, Gold Medal in Hospitality, Tourism, and Recreation - Level 2: National Qualifier; Hannah Klein - State Champion, Gold Medal, Job Interview - Level 3: National Qualifier; Kaitlyn Flesser - State Champion, Gold Medal, Fashion Construction - Level 3: National Qualifier; Lillie Shoemaker, Azia Giron and Avery Ladwig - Gold Medal, FCCLA Instructional Video Design - Level 2, Online STAR Event National Qualifier.
   Additionally, our chapter had a team of students that competed in the Nebraska Knowledge Bowl, which were Canain Rogers, Lillie Shoemaker, Azia Giron, Skylar Kokes and Kaci Bruha. Prior to the state conference, students took a comprehensive knowledge test on Family and Consumer Sciences topics and FCCLA Knowledge. Based on the scores from the preliminary round, the top 9 teams then advanced to the live rounds on Monday. 
   At the conference, our chapter was also recognized for our participation in the Feed Nebraska Program. For this program our FCCLA Chapter partnered with our FBLA Chapter to host a schoolwide food drive this past fall to donate food items to our local food pantry. Our chapter also received a “Silver Chapter Award” for our commitment to providing opportunities for student members to be involved in community events, leadership development, and career-related activities. Additionally, adviser Rachel Hornickel was awarded the Nebraska FCCLA Master Adviser Award, ACE Award, which stands for “Advisor Committed to Excellence” and was recognized for five years of service to Nebraska FCCLA. 
   Several of our chapter members also received individual awards as well. This past winter, Carmen Wagner and Alyssa Lawrence participated in the “Day in Your Future” program through Nebraska FCCLA. In this program, students apply for a job shadowing or internship position in a Family and Consumer Sciences related occupation. Both Alyssa and Carmen were accepted into the program. Alyssa completed her program experience at Valley County Health System in the area of Human Resources and Social Work and Carmen completed her experience at an Early Childhood School program in Grand Island. Through this experience, students gain valuable on-the-job experience for future careers of interest. Also, Carmen Wagner, Alyssa Lawrence and Azia Giron were recognized for their role in recruiting members to grow our chapter, and they received the “High Five Award” from Nebraska FCCLA.  Kaitlyn Flessner was also a participant in the second annual FCCLA Fashion Show, where she was able to showcase the garment she created for her STAR project. 
   FCCLA offers many opportunities for students to become better role models and leaders in their communities, schools, and chapters. This past year Hannah Klein served as the 2023-2024 Nebraska State Vice President of Membership. In Ord FCCLA Chapter history, Hannah was the fourth state officer to represent our chapter, school and community. At the state conference, Hannah gave her retiring address and helped install the next Nebraska FCCLA officer team to lead our organization. We are so proud of her for her outstanding leadership and for taking on this role in FCCLA! Our chapter is also incredibly proud of Alyssa Lawrence and Carmen Wagner for serving as 2023-2024 Nebraska FCCLA State Peer Officers too. Their leadership skills were well represented in Nebraska FCCLA as well as the community of Ord! Thank you, Hannah, Alyssa and Carmen for representing our chapter and community this past year through your various leadership roles! 
   The Ord FCCLA Chapter is so excited for our eight National Qualifiers to again make history for the Ord FCCLA Chapter and community and will be preparing to attend the National Leadership Conference in July hosted in Seattle, Washington. Through FCCLA, students learn vital skills such as teamwork, leadership, communication, public speaking, problem-solving, critical thinking and the value of hard work. Our students who participate in FCCLA will become better leaders in their families, community, future careers and school through their involvement in FCCLA activities. To prepare to attend the conference, students will be fundraising the next few months. Our chapter is also seeking out in-kind donations and sponsorships of any value to help our student members have the opportunity to attend and compete at the National Leadership Conference. In return for helping sponsor our student leaders in our community, your business or organization name will be recognized through our social media platforms and on our National Qualifier t-shirts. To keep up to date on all things related to Ord FCCLA, please follow our Facebook page “Ord Public Schools FCCLA Chapter.” For more information about how you or your business can help our local FCCLA Chapter, please contact Rachel Hornickel at rhornickel@ordps.org.