Two Rock Ridge students proved that teamwork is the key. Seniors Anwesha Rout and Kaelyn Alimusa from the Family, Career, and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) chapter brought home second place at the National FCCLA Leadership Conference that was held in Orlando, FL this summer from July 4 -10.  

Rout and Alimusa participated in the Sustainability Level 3 category. The category consists of students addressing environmental issues by researching, developing a project, and finding a solution.  “We created different prototypes that we handed out to judges, and then we had multiple fundraisers to have a community outreach and have people participate in our project with us,” Alimusa said.  

FCCLA is a national organization that helps students develop leadership, communication, and career skills through competitive events. It allows students to learn valuable skills that will help them in their home and professional lives. “It’s a great opportunity for students to compete and build the skill to talk in front of a large group of people,”  FCCLA advisor Cathleen Maloney said. “I would say it means that you like helping out the community, and you like being a leader,” Rout said.

Competing against students from across the country,  Rout and Alimusa focused their project on sustainable medical supplies. “We had to fix our project to make it more interesting to the judges because of the higher stakes,” Alimusa said. 

Rout and Alimusa first went to states, which was located in Virginia Beach, VA. After they placed in the top three at states, they advanced to nationals in Orlando, FL. At nationals, the duo made it to second place. “Honestly,  it was surprising [because] we didn’t think we would make it to nationals, first of all, and we definitely didn’t think we would be able to place at nationals,” Alimusa said. 

For Rout and Alimusa, their priorities have now shifted to focus on growing the FCCLA club at Rock Ridge. “For this year’s FCCLA, I’m not sure if I’m competing again,” Alimusa said. “I’m a VP now, so what I want to do is get other people more involved in FCCLA and have them compete at nationals and hopefully qualify as finalists as well.”

As the two continue to take on leadership roles within FCCLA, Rout and Alimusa hope to inspire future competitors to grow and make it on the national stage, like they did. Their journey shows that teamwork, passion, and persistence are the largest factors that FCCLA teaches.