Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) at OHS enjoyed considerable success at their recent regional competition.

On Jan. 22, FCCLA students traveled to Ritenour High School where nine received recognition. Three won gold ratings and qualified for state competition.

“The experience was unforgettable,” said Megan Blanchard (10), one of the three state qualifiers. “Although the presenting time is only around 10 minutes, the rest of the day was spent bonding with other people in the club.”

Blanchard earned a gold rating for Fashion Construction, Kayla Jackson (11) for Life Event Planning, and Megan Miller (12) for Career Investigation. Miller attained a perfect score for her presentation.

“I was super excited,” Miller said. “I was in a good mood for the rest of the day.”

Jackson felt a similar excitement about her results.

“When I first learned that I was moving on to state, all of the nerves and anxiety that had built up just washed away,” Jackson said. “I was extremely joyous and I couldn’t stop smiling because I was excited that more people would be able to see how much work and passion I put into my project.”

Other OHS students to receive recognition included Morgan Orr (11) and Madelyn Turner (11) with bronze in Focus on Children, David Genovese (10) and Madison Appel (10) with silver in National Programs in Action, Paige Alfeldt (10) with silver in Illustrated Talk, and Sam Gandhi (12) with silver in Job Interview.

“They all did so well,” said Mrs. Jamie Daughaday, FCCLA sponsor. “Of course I think they all deserved gold, but I’m still extremely proud of them and can’t wait to see more of what each student does.”

Blanchard, Jackson, and Miller are already looking forward to the next step.

“When the announcer announced that I was moving on to state I was so happy, I was shaking and had the biggest smile on my face,” Blanchard said. “I was already thinking about all the fun I was going to have at state.”

The state competition will be at Tan-Tar-A Resort at the Lake of the Ozarks March 17-19.