Renton High School FCCLA (Family, Career and Community Leaders of America) members recently attended the FCCLA Fall Conference on October 18, 2024, at Northshore School District. Renton FCCLA members were dressed in formal FCCLA attire. They were able to network with Lindbergh and Issaquah High School, and engage in various spectacular workshops and other game activities. Moreover, they were able to hear from a guest speaker to learn how they can take their next steps towards their career, impact, and leadership. As a result, of all the opportunities that occurred, whether a student was a returning member or was new to the nonprofit organization, they were able to extend their knowledge about FCCLA and identify ways to put their leadership skills into action. 

When Renton FCCLA members arrived at the Norshore School District Administrative Office, they received name tags, small notebooks written with positive quotes, pens, a raffle ticket and snacks. At every table that each school was seated at, there were candies, markers, and a long piece of paper, which was designed by each school later on in the event to represent their school spirit! Students begin the event with an icebreaker by playing a bingo game where each student is required to find another student or advisor who matches the information in any of the bingo boxes. Throughout the event, the raffle was played and students could earn different FCCLA related items like an FCCLA mug, an FCCLA computer bag, or FCCLA socks. Afterwards, students, advisors and other people at the event took a video together. In addition, students played an Oreo challenge where two students from each school were asked to participate. Each student placed one Oreo on their forehead and attempted to place the Oreo into their mouth without touching it. One student from Issaquah High School succeeded in the challenge and was able to earn prizes and another raffle ticket for each student who came from their school. 

Following the enjoyable introduction, everyone finally met Interior Designer and CEO of Design for a Living, Chelsea Coryell. One of her goals in her speech was “making your hobbies into a career.” She explained how she identified her passion and how she would use her passion to impact other people. She stated as an Interior Designer, “Clients put trust in you with the imagination you have in mind for them. It’s not about you…but making your clients dreams come true.” This statement also correlates with other careers when thinking about how you can positively influence other people’s lives. Moreover, she spoke about how she noticed there were other interior designers without an educational degree who were already exceeding in their career. This made her wonder, “If other people can do it, why can’t I do it?” Especially since she had the advantage by graduating at Western Washington University with a degree in Interior Design and Merchandising. For that reason, she showed that people’s success is proof that we are able to achieve anything we believe in. Another thing Chelsea spoke about was “fake it till you make it.” She told everyone of how introverted she was growing up.  She understood in order to reach her career goals, she had to step outside her comfort zone no matter how daunting it might be. As she mentioned, outside your comfort zone is where you will grow your confidence and leadership.

There were 3 workshops regarding FCCLA that students were able to choose which workshop that they wanted to learn more about. One of the workshops available was “Discover Your Star Events,” which helped students learn more about the competitive events FCCLA has to offer and identify which event would suit each student. Another workshop was called “The Road to Nationals,” with Hasini Malisetti, FCCLA Co-President at North Creek High School, who received gold in last year’s competition and made it to top 5 in the nation in her category. She explained her experience and tips when getting to nationals. Lastly, students were also able to attend the workshop called “So You want to become a State Officer?” with Smriti Tiwari, WA FCCLA Vice President of Community Service, who shared with other FCCLA members how to become FCCLA state officer and what your responsibilities would be. 

We appreciate everyone who was involved in making the FCCLA Fall Conference happen. Thank you to all FCCLA advisors at the event for their continuous support. Students from all three schools certainly had a spectacular and fun leadership experience. In conclusion, this experience helped students decide how they can plan to go forward in FCCLA, especially for upcoming competitions.