The Nebraska Family, Career, and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) met for their annual State Leadership Conference April 2-4 in the Lincoln Haymarket area. Nearly 1,100 students and advisers from 90 Nebraska schools attended the conference to grow their leadership skills, celebrate their accomplishments from the past year, and prepare for their future careers. Melvin Adams was the keynote speaker for the event. His message focused on resilience and never letting one’s circumstances prevent them achieving their dreams.

Charmayne Popp, Callaway, was recognized as one of the new chapter advisors. Callaway also received a Gold Chapter Award.

Individual results included: Chapter Service Portfolio - Skylar Ellison and Jozi Edgington, 4th Place Bronze Event Management - Jazlynn Bechtold and Jaxon Guthrie, 3rd Place Gold Repurpose and Redesign - Angel Johnson, Chenney Dishman and Tyra Brestel, 4th Place Silver Sports Nutrition - Jocelyn Bailey and Carleigh Laible, 3rd Place Silver Throughout the day on Monday, April 3, participants had the opportunity to attend four career panels where they heard from professionals in each of the FCCLA Career Pathways: Education & Training, Hospitality & Tourism, Human Services, and Visual Arts & Design. The UNL Engler Entrepreneurship Program also hosted an Entrepreneurship panel with their alumni and students. Nebraska CommonGround also hosted a Consumer Fair where attendees could hear directly from farm women in Nebraska and learn more about where their food comes from. The Opportunity Fair featured 30 colleges, organizations, and businesses for members to connect with. Students also had the opportunity to give back to the Lincoln community through the FCCLA Serves projects. More than 125 students participated in service projects at the Lincoln Children’s Zoo, Lincoln Children’s Museum, and Food Bank of Lincoln. Members also had the opportunity to choose from a variety of tour options such as Hudl, Lied Center, Temple Building, and Memorial Stadium.

The on-site service project included bringing items to donate to the Food Bank of Lincoln, which serves Lincoln and 16 surrounding counties. Howells-Dodge was the recipient of the Community Service traveling trophy for their participation in the on-site service project along with the SPOT service project hosted in conjunction with the Peer Education Conference in February.

A total of 570 students participated in STAR (Students Taking Action with Recognition) Events, FCCLA’s premier competitive event program.