by Taylor Massey
Since the beginning of the school year, members of Republic FCCLA have prepared for their Regional STAR Competition by designing clothing pieces, building furniture or home decor, and creating thorough presentations to showcase their hard work. These month-long efforts have helped seven students receive “Gold” and qualify for the next step to nationals: the State Leadership Conference.
The Regional STAR Competition took place on January 28 at Missouri State University after being postponed due to school closures. All schools with an FCCLA chapter in District 10, which includes nine local counties, were eligible to compete throughout the day.
Competition resembles that of a speech and debate tournament or DECA competition; for most events, students create a presentation showcasing their work and prepare a speech to inform judges. There are several different categories students can participate in, such as those concerning fashion, interior design, and cooking. Junior Lilian Howell, who qualified to state in her event, said the process has several components.
“The competition consisted of a room filled with different stations where we all presented at. We set up our piece we were showing and gave the judges 15 minutes to look through our portfolio we had created. Then, we gave a speech to present all of our information, and we were asked questions about it,” said Howell.
Howell was one of two Republic students to participate in the Fashion Design event. In this event, students create a clothing line. They must account for all aspects of their brand, from explaining their target audience to their inspiration for their designs. However, the most time-consuming portion of this event is undoubtedly designing and sewing a clothing piece from their line. Howell designed a satin dress with tulle sleeves for her brand “Boho Chic”.
Senior Ireland Turner also qualified for the state competition, and she competed in a very different category. Instead of creating a project in the fashion realm, Turner’s project relies on her to recycle old materials and find a unique way to create a new product. Her board was titled “The Pink Flamingo”, and she took this as inspiration for her piece of furniture she created.
“My design was a swing chair, and I made it by altering and designing an old chair I found. The category was called Repurpose and Redesign,” said Turner.
The State Leadership Conference will take place from March 20-22 at the Lake of the Ozarks. If students receive high enough scores at this conference, they will have a chance to compete at the national competition in San Diego, California.
State Qualifiers:
Jenna Belcher – Career Investigation
Lexi Mitchell – Entrepreneurship
Toriana Goodman – Fashion Design
Lilian Howell – Fashion Design
Hope Peck – Fashion Construction
Ireland Turner – Repurpose Redesign
Miha Nambara – Baking & Pastry