FCCLA Takes Part in Virtual Peer Education Conference
Launch the media gallery 1 playerBy: Tanyn Larson, a freshman at Leigh High School
The Leigh-Clarkson FCCLA chapter joined over 250 other Nebraska members and advisers at the State Peer Education Conference held on a virtual platform on February 22, 2021. The theme of the conference was “Building on the Past, Facing the Future.”
The event was planned by the Nebraska SPOT team officers, which includes senior Alicia Holmberg and junior Natalie Brabec of the Leigh-Clarkson Chapter.
FCCLA advisor Mrs. Megan Hillen said, “The Nebraska SPOT officers did a fantastic job planning the virtual Peer Education Conference. There were able to combine videos with hands-on activities to provide an engaging and positive experience for FCCLA members across the state.”
The State Peer Officer Team promoted the Outreach Project “Our Past, Their Future” Book Drive,” which gave members the opportunity to collect new or gently used children’s books for local elementary students.
The conference also introduced a National Programs Puzzle activity that allowed chapters to create several different puzzle pieces that related to the three FCCLA National Programs the State Peer Officer Teams are promoting this year: Families Acting for Community Traffic Safety (FACTS), Career Connection, and Stand Up. Once completed, the puzzle pieces were able to all fit together to create one big FCCLA puzzle.
The Leigh-Clarkson FCCLA Chapter was recognized for earning the SPOT Outreach Award. At the end of the conference, advisors were able to fill out a form evaluating the conference, which made their chapter eligible for a certificate and door prizes for participating in the conference.
The keynote speaker for the conference was Tom Koch of Minnesota, who asked questions to inspire and engage FCCLA members. Included in the Peer Education Conference were breakout sessions. There were many of these sessions over a variety of topics. The State Peer Officer Teams all completed a video about the National Program they were covering for the year. This year the Family team focused on STAND UP, the Career team focused on Career Connection, the Community team focused on FACTS (Families Acting For Community Traffic Safety). There were also sessions by MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) and the Safe Center in Kearney. MADD provided a breakout session as well as a longer online training session provided to the students.
FCCLA SPOT officer Alicia Holmberg said, “"This Peer Education Conference was an interesting experience. Having a virtual conference was difficult to put together, but after having the conference, I am proud of how it turned out. It was a great day full of interesting sessions, and the activities that we did as a chapter were fun. As this Peer Education Conference is the last one I will attend in high school, I am very glad that I paid a part in its creation.”