Career education programs showcase student achievement
“We wanted to do a project about water safety because, for swimming lessons, we do ages three to four, so we did a presentation about why water safety is important.” FCCLA members, including senior Ella Oberbreckling (pictured), participated worked on projects and competed in STAR events to display their skills communication, persuasion and problem solving. (Press photo by Steve Van Kooten)
By Steve Van Kooten
Four of Clayton Ridge School's Career and Technical Student Organizations (CTSOs) participated in a public presentation at the Driftwood Diner on April 30 at 6 p.m.
Participating organizations included the Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA), Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA), the National FFA and SkillsUSA.
"The purpose of you being here tonight is for us to highlight our accomplishments and help promote what we've been doing in our career and technical education programs," said FBLA Advisor Leah Eulberg. "These organizations play a critical role in the lives of our students and in our programs."
Clayton Ridge's FBLA is represented by President Chris Gebhardt, Vice President Caden Shaw, Secretary Avery Dean, Treasurer Owen Brandt, Historian Ave Shelton, Lola Reimer, Karly Wille and Madilyn Thomas.
The Iowa FBLA conference hosted 1,011 attendees, 65 chapters and 91 events. It produced 327 national qualifiers.
Clayton Ridge sent 13 students to the conference to compete in 29 events.
FCCLA Advisor Angela Williams called CTSOs "intra-curricular": taking skills learned in the classroom and giving the students a chance to practice those skills outside of it.
"It's important to emphasize that the projects, events and trips outside of school that our students participate in are not distractions but extensions of learning," she said.
Clayton Ridge's FCCLA program is represented by President Lilly Meana, Vice President Madelyn Troester, VP of Public Relations Audrey Ostrander, District President and Vice President of Finance Claire Brandt, District and Chapter VP of Competitive Events Hailey Gaul, Ella Oberbreckling and Allysa Sadewasser.
Students can tackle topics including repurposing and redesign, conservation, professional presentation and sports nutrition, among many others, through projects and competing in Students Taking Action with Recognitions (STAR) Events.
"One major part of our FCCLA experience is participating in competitive events," said Brandt. "STAR Events gives us a chance to apply family and consumer science skills to real-world scenarios."
The Iowa FCCLA conference hosted 1,000 attendees, 70 chapters, and 44 events. Clayton Ridge sent 10 students to compete in eight STAR events.
The school's FFA chapter is represented by their officer team, which includes President Carson Letterle, Vice President Nicholas Meyer, Secretary Alayna Blume, Treasurer Chris Gebhardt, Reporter Avery Dean, Reporter Caden Heidemann and Sentinel Maddex Moser.
The Clayton Ridge chapter produced three Iowa Degree recipients this year (Letterle, Meyer and Blume), which is the highest honor that can be given to an active FFA member by the Iowa FFA Association.
Gebhardt received the State Proficiency Award. The award recognizes FFA members that have demonstrated excellence in their Supervised Agricultural Experiences.
SkillsUSA Advisor Aaron Mueller said that the program had three junior and four sophomore members for its inaugural year.
The program provided workplace experience explorations, including the Portzen Construction Career Expo on April 25 and the Kendricks High Demand Skilled Trades Event this past February. He added that CTSO programs instill responsibility and leadership in their students through real-world experiences.
SkillUSA includes events as disparate as graphic design, construction and auto mechanics.
"In a world of career and technical education, things are always evolving," he said. "We're proud to have a mix of CTSOs, with long-standing traditions and newly implemented ones."
