Dublin was well represented in the national FCCLA Leadership Conference as 2022 DHS grads Angie Flores and Veronica Rodriguez joined more than 5,000 students from middle school to collegiate level competing in a variety of events.
Flores and Rodriguez qualified for the trip to San Diego after placing 1 st in the Promotion and Publicity contest at the state competition in Dallas in April. For the national contest, Flores and Rodriguez had to finish a written component before delivering a 30-minute presentation over the ways they promoted the FCCLA program throughout the 2021-22 school year. (There were 40 of 50 different FCCLA contests being conducted at the same time in the AVID Convention Center.)
This promotion included handing out candy canes with information on FCCLA at the Christmas parade, providing treats for teachers at Valentine’s Day, serving up cookies at a basketball game with FCCLA facts attached and showing videos and talking to 7 th and 8 th graders about the benefits of the program.
Although the Dublin duo didn’t make the top 10 at nationals (no other places are announced), first-year FCCLA sponsor Regina Rasberry stated her pride in the students. Rasberry reported that although students are able to use note cards during presentations, the pair were working from memory since the regional competition.
Rasberry said that Flores and Rodriguez as well as former national contestant Ayush Patel represented Dublin well through the conference, having to remain in the official dress and conduct themselves appropriately during daily meetings.
The trip came with a variety of unique experience such as a dinner cruise and visits to the San Diego Zoo, Mission Beach and the historic Belmont amusement park.
Flores and Patel also joined Rasberry at Petco Park to watch the San Diego Padres and LA Dodgers face off.
Rasberry said that FCCLA activities are hard work but can also be a lot of fun. She encourages interested Dublin students or parents to come to her with questions. For more about the national program, visit https://fcclainc.org/.