0
0
NS Sophomore Hope Shelley is the only high schooler in Utah to move on to FCCLA nationals after taking fi rst place in both region and state. Near the end of June, Shelley will be fl ying to Nashville, Tennessee to compete against 800 other students in the national contest.
“I just feel like it’s super rewarding to put a bunch of hard work into something and get that opportunity,” Shelley
said.
Shelley has put in more than 40 hours preparing and presenting her project. She will have presented it more
than fi ve times before she competes at nationals, and she continues to improve every time.
“I think she will do well at nationals because she has been working on this since November, and every time that she presents it, it gets a little better,” said FCCLA advisor Auralee Brooks. “She knows her material, she understands the principles and elements of interior design, and she communicates that very well.”
With the background she’s gained from taking the interior design course at the high school earlier this year, she was able to showcase her knowledge of interior design and take home fi rst place at region. There are about 25 different categories to enter, but this year Shelley entered in interior design.
“They’re given a scenario and criteria to follow,” Brooks said. “So, [the judges] look at how well you follow those, the neatness of your presentation, if you have original ideas, your presentation skills, and they’re judging what you know about the principles and elements of design. I’ve taken students to nationals four or five times. They’ve all done well at nationals, but nobody’s ever tak- en fi rst place. She’s up there though—Hope is obviously one of the top because she’s coming to Nationals and she presents herself very well.”
Although Brooks has only taken a few students to nationals, Shelley has proven herself to be a hard worker and has a good chance of doing well.
“I think I made it because I put my heart into that project—I gave it my all,” Shelley said. “It was amazing, and
with the help of my advisor, Auralee Brooks, we worked together to create something I think is pretty cool.”
Brooks was there to help her every step of the way. Shelley considers her to be a great advisor and thinks that anyone else planning to join would see that as well.
“Auralee is amazing; she is the greatest advisor and will work with you and help you any problem you have. She helped me tremendously through everything I’ve needed, and she won region 3 advisor of the year,” Shelley said.
Brooks has enjoyed advising FCCLA, but only had a small number of people join this year. She thinks that more students would participate if they knew just how beneficial it could be. It is great for learning new skills and looks great on future college and job applications.
“I’d like to try something new in the FCCLA area,” Shelley said. “I feel like it’s been super beneficial and I just think it is all around a great program.”
She has had a great experience with FCCLA this year and is excited to join again next year.
