Family, Career, and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) members packed a bus full of mannequins, clothes, food, cooking supplies, and child development storyboards to compete at this year’s Sectional Competition at the College of Lake County on Friday, Feb. 17.

Students competed in a variety of events ranging from Relish Trays, Salad Demonstrations, Cakes, Semi-Formal – Formalwear Construction, Preschool Lesson, Children’s Literature Presentation, Child Care Provider Portfolio, and Culinary Arts, to Fashion Construction.

“Competition went well.  The students enjoyed it.  The teachers had fun.  Hopefully we’ll bring home the gold,” said FCCLA sponsor, Kay Coughlin.

The students who competed in the FCCLA competition were Sashoy Chambers, Jonah Barquez, Stephen Giddens, Laura Krikorian, Molly Morello, Chris Lee, Jackie Yablon, Vanja Selak, Angela Guinta, Joanna Kastrinakis, Zena Salam, Alina Tariq, Aisha Usman, Brandi Fryer, Katie Graves, Lily Chatman, Chrysanthe Agos, Moriah Gelfand, Colene Gibson, Patricia Mocarska, Jenny Marin, Kelly Sanks, and Alexa Bits.

“We did amazing.  We provided a great representation of Niles West.  We received three Most Outstanding Awards and numerous 1st Place Awards,” said FCCLA sponsor, Michelle Kline.

FCCLA members agreed that it was a good competition.

“I thought it was good.  The judges were really nice and it was a lot of fun,” said Kelly Sanks, who competed in the Children’s Literature Presentation Event with Jenny Marin.

“Hopefully we made it to State!” added Marin.

Many other students had high hopes to make it to State.

“I feel like I tried my best and if I make it to State I’ll be really happy,” said Vanja Selak, one of the students who competed in the Fondant Cake competition.

“I think it went pretty well.  It was stressful, but I think I did alright.  [In terms of making it to State,] I hope so after all this work staying up and prepping for this [competition],” said Molly Morello, who also competed in the Fondant Cake competition.

“I think I did pretty good.  We all represented d219 very good.  Competition was hard, though,” said Salad Demonstration competitor, Jonah Barquez.

“I think I did good.  It was way easier than I thought, but I’m glad it’s over,” said Jackie Yablon, who competed in the Frosted Cakes competition.

Some members weren’t sure how they did after their competitions.

“I didn’t do that good, probably okay. [In terms of making it to state,] probably not.  [My competition] was good.  I imagined it differently, though.  I thought it’d be harder or more difficult, but it wasn’t,” said Aisha Usman who competed in the Pastry Arts competition.

“I think I did really well, but everyone else did really good also.  I’m not saying I’m not [going to State], but I understand if I don’t, but I understand if I do.  I only saw what I made and what Zena did.  From what I saw, the competition was really tough,” said Alexa Bits who competed in Fashion Construction.

Other members knew that their event didn’t go as well as they had hoped.

“I did terrible,” said Fondant Cake competitor, Chris Lee. “I didn’t have the required things.  The design is good, but I didn’t have the required tools.”

On the way back to school, the FCCLA members faced a bit of trouble with their bus.

“The tire got very stinky and the inside tire blew out,” said Kline.

“It was really disappointing because we had all been at FCCLA and we all wanted to go home and supposedly the tires were flat,” said FCCLA member, Lily Chatman.

Some members were affected more by the bus troubles than others.

“I was supposed to start work at four, but the bus had trouble, so I was late and it was terrible.  We were supposed to be back to school by three,” said FCCLA member, Patricia Mocarska.

On the way home, the competitors were given their results and awards.  Three competitors, Alexa Bits, Molly Morello, and Vanja Selak, received Most Outstanding Awards, the highest honor for a competition.  Awarded 1st Place awards were competitors Alexa Bits, Katie Graves, Lily Chatman, Chrysanthe Agos, Colene Gibson, Patricia Mocarska, Jenny Marin, Kelly Sanks, Aisha Usman, and Sashoy Chambers.  Awarded 2nd Place awards were competitors Zena Salam, Angela Guinta, Aisha Badla, Moriah Gelfand, Chris Lee, Jackie Yablon, Jonah Barquez, Stephen Giddens, and Laura Krikorian.  Competitors who received a 3rd Place award were Alina Tariq, Joanna Kastrinkakis, and Brandi Fryer.

“To go to State, the competitors needed to receive a 1st Place Award,” said Kline.

FCCLA State Competition will be held April 19-21 in Springfield, IL.