FCCLA Leads FCHS

In a relatively new arrival to Fluvanna’s clubs line up, the Future Career and Community Leaders of America Club (FCCLA), teaches students leadership and community outreach skills in the fields of culinary, fashion, and financial literacy.

The club was introduced to FCHS last September by Culinary teacher Kate Chidester and meets in her room (3415) every other week.. This family and consumer-based club led by students revolves around activity within the community. “[Students] learn how to become leaders in their community and to think more globally,” said Chidester. She also explained that while students can oftentimes become too close-minded, participation in the FCCLA club can “bridge that gap to thinking more widely.”

The club participates in competitions (both States and Nationals) and food and clothing drives, but is still very new and is expected to evolve. “Our goal is to have kids go to Nationals for culinary competitions and to have kids go out and turn this into a profession,” said Chidester.

One main purpose of the FCCLA club is to provide members with experience addressing important personal, family, world, and societal issues.. Chidester said she was inspired to bring the FCCLA club to FCHS after attending a conference and seeing kids that had been in the club for all of high school. “[I] saw the joy that they got out of it,” she said.

The club accepts anyone with open arms as it is not exclusive to Culinary students. “I was surprised when kids who hadn’t taken any of the culinary classes had a strong interest in joining,” said Chidester.

With nine official members so far, the FCCLA club is recognized as a chapter by the organization on a national level and can compete in competitions. These competitions focus around knowledge of Family and Consumer Sciences and leadership skills. Three branches of the competitions are culinary, fashion, and financial literacy. The culinary there branch involves a cooking competition and a related board competition, plus focuses on careers in that field. The fashion branch offers a sewing competition and a board competition, while the financial literacy competition presents on all aspects of finance, including saving, earning, spending, and protecting.