Family, Career and Community Leaders of America students had a busy week, attending both the Fall Leadership Conference and the National Cluster Meeting. Wednesday, FCCLA members drove out to Centralia High and listened to a speaker who talked about the values of family, and then they participated in workshops which taught students to look at the bigger picture.

On Thursday, members drove to Louisville, Kentucky to participate in the three day National Cluster Meeting. While there, students participated in leadership workshops, listened to speakers and competed against other schools from across the country in different contests. At the competition, seniors Mason Jackson and Noah Appelgren were finalists in occupational culinary knife skills, placing first and second respectively, and junior Hailey Eilert was a finalist in senior impromptu speaking, placing second out of all competitors.

“It was really cool [to win] just because I went into [the competition] not knowing anything about  public speaking,” Eilert said. “I just was really surprised by myself the fact that I managed to place second.”

Jackson explained that these competitions are great help for future careers, and that FCCLA helps to promote student leadership.

As president, Jackson also works to help grow the club. Members can attest to his leadership and attitude as their reason of joining.

“I joined because of Mason Jackson,” senior Gunner Taylor said. “He convinced me that it was a good thing to join, and I haven’t regretted it so far.”