Kayla Goodwin - Mustangs Ahead
(LAKEWOOD RANCH, FL) - With the Florida Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) 2026 State Leadership Conference (SLC) kicking off at the end of March there are a few important details that not only members, but the community should know.
The key event that is happening at SLC is the Students Taking Action with Recognition (STAR) events. In these events, students are required to create a project that falls under one of the seven Family and Consumer Sciences (FCS) career clusters. (Arts & design, hospitality & tourism, financial services, education & training, human services, and public service)
LRHS freshman Laurynn Fontaine said, “My STAR project, innovation in senior care, is doing really well. It’s fun to learn about the daily life of senior residents and know what could be done to help them.”
Members work hard to get these projects ready and perfected for SLC. Once they present their project, it is thoroughly graded and judged. Then members must wait until the last day to see how the STAR project scored.
The top two qualifiers for each event will move on to the National Leadership Conference (NLC). If any of the members finish first in their competition, they receive a gold medal along with transportation fully funded for NLC that is being held in Washington, D.C.
LRHS senior Sienna Peddie said, “I am very excited to present my STAR project at SLC because I know that I have worked hard all year on this project and I know that it will be a challenge but making it to Nationals will all be worth it.
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Aside from all the hard work that the members must put into this conference, they will also have opportunities to have fun and enjoy themselves. There will be a karaoke night where students and even advisors can pair up and sing and shout to their favorite song. Following that will also be a team trivia game in which students will be quizzed on various topics to see who knows the most random facts.
The winner of each event will receive a certificate to take home and proudly display for all to see.
The main point of this state conference is to help members become a better version of themselves. This conference allows students to take on a glimpse of the real world and prepare themselves for their career.
The conference is scheduled for March 27-20 in Orlando. Here, the members will be able to meet with fellow students from all across the state of Florida.