By RACHEL CHENG, ’13, and TRISHA GUGALE, ’14

The JP Stevens FCCLA attended the 66th annual New Jersey FCCLA State Leadership Conference at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Cherry Hill on March 14 and 15. The conference fostered interaction with other members and advisors from all over the state and provided the opportunity for club members to expand their leadership development. JP members lived up to this year’s theme, “Passport to Excellence,” by attending general sessions and workshops and participating in competitive events.

The first day of the conference was fully scheduled with engaging leadership workshops and an entertaining evening filled with fun and active recreation which included a dance, a hypnotist, an inspirational movie, as well as a Zumba session. Students were also able to make fleece hats that were donated to homeless shelters across New Jersey.

Aside from the workshops and entertainment, all participants and team members also took part in their designated competitions, including Chapter Showcase Manual, Cake Decorating, Fashion Runway, Food Innovations, Focus On Children, Fashion Construction, Fashion Design, FCCLA Speaks, Job Interview, Hospitality, Life Event Planning, Promote and Publicize FCCLA, Recycle and Redesign, Illustrated Talk, and Junior and Senior Parliamentary Procedures. This long list of competitions included events at the state level and national level, the latter of which would take participants further to the National Leadership Conference in Nashville, Tennessee.

The second day of the conference was composed of the annual fashion show and closing session where students received awards and recognition for their hard work. The JP Stevens chapter of FCCLA brought home a total of nineteen gold medals and four silver medals, an impressive output overall. Eleven teams will thus be representing New Jersey at the National Leadership Conference this July. Beyond the awards, however, the club will also inaugurate two new state officers, freshman Rohit Iyer and junior Larissa Szilagyi, as part of the 2013-2014 New Jersey FCCLA Executive Council. Congratulations to all the members who made this conference a success!