Joseph Charter School students make waves at FCCLA Fall Convention
By Garrett Christensen on Tuesday, November 14th, 2023 in More Top Stories Northeastern Oregon News
JOSEPH – Never let it be said that Eastern Oregon’s students aren’t dedicated to their school clubs. From FFA, to FBLA and in this case FCCLA (Family Career and Community Leaders of America), not a year goes by without local students making their mark at conventions and competitions.
Over the weekend of November 10-12, four Joseph Charter School FCCLA members attended the FCCLA National Fall Conference in Birmingham Alabama: sophomore and FCCLA state president Lauren McBurney, senior and Joseph chapter president Rhyson Collier, junior Casen Cunningham, and sixth grader Aliana Pollard. These four students not only represented the smallest chapter present at the National Fall Convention but were the only Oregon students to attend and compete this year. As described by Joseph FCCLA Leadership Advisor Lisa Collier:
“We’re the only Oregon Club that goes. We went last year, and we didn’t want to compete or anything, we just wanted to attend and see how it went, what it looked like. We just wanted to experience it without the pressure of competition. We brought students last year and I told them, ‘We will be competing next year, but let’s just go figure out what it looks like.’ And this year they did super good.”
The Joseph chapter itself has 45 students, the second largest in the state only behind the neighboring Enterprise chapter. Lauren and Aliana competed in impromptu speaking, with Lauren taking third place overall, while Casen competed in Job interviewing. Rhyson competed in Family and Consumer Sciences and ended up taking first place in the category, earning a $15,000 dollar scholarship to Sullivan University in Kentucky. Collier commented excitedly on their experience during convention and what it means for their chapter, remarking:
“It’s so much fun to be a part of their success and watch their success. Joseph Charter School has a big foothold with Oregon FCCLA and National FCCLA…It’s very cool because they are essentially putting Oregon FCCLA on the map in the national world. They’ve done so well throughout the recent years that people are recognizing them and people know who they are.”
The Joseph Chapter’s ambition for pushing its members and Oregon FCCLA as a whole into the national spotlight isn’t stopping at just convention attendance either. According to Collier, Lauren plans to run for the National Officer team in 2025. Like the contemporary FBLA and FFA, FCCLA maintains a student-run leadership board with representatives from across the United States. The Joseph chapter has nominated students before, but Collier is confident that Lauren will be the first to make the cut, stating:
“We have had students run in the past, but we’ve never had a student elected to it. Every couple of years, we have a student from Joseph try. Even though they haven’t been elected they learn so much and they grow so much as a leader just by going through the process of running. I have a good feeling about Lauren’s run. I think she is absolutely what they’re looking for. I think if anybody can do it, it’s her.”
