FCCLA Attends Peer Education Conference
Ten members from the Plainview FCCLA Chapter attended the FCCLA State Peer Education Conference held in Kearney on February 23. Attending were Jessica Booth, Morgan Guevara, Logan Jacobsen, Destiny Rickard, Devon Tunender, Seth Tunender, Marlena Curtiss, Ayden Stewart, Xavier Barron, Shayla Jacobsen, and Adviser Ronita Jacobsen.
The theme of the meeting was “SPOT the Difference”. During the opening session the chapter was recognized for participating in The Peer Education Outreach Project “Live Like Lisa”. This project of Random Acts of Kindness was dedicated to Lisa Groth, FCCLA Adviser at Boone Central who was killed in an auto accident in October.
Keynote Speaker Kevan Hueftle kicked off the conference with his session “Nobody Cares-Work Harder”. Hueftle is a 35-year-old rancher, husband, and father who lives in Eustis, NE with a story to tell and dream he is living. Hueftle is also a below the knee amputee who lost his foot in a hunting accident in 2005 and spent the next 10 years addicted to alcohol. One day he woke up and decided he was done with his alcohol addiction and the life he was living and felt he was meant to do be doing something more. He announced to family and friends he wanted to make the 2017 US Track and Field Team. He worked to achieve that goal and ran for Team USA in Lima, Peru and Dubai. Hueftle also talked about why failure is important. He emphasized that students would be faced with failure every day and that they should learn from it. It is from failure that we learn to grow, become stronger, and work harder to succeed. If it wasn't for failure, we wouldn’t strive to become better. He says he fails every day in his workouts and that this is what makes him work harder the next day and become stronger and faster. If used correctly failure is what makes you successful.
As a member of the US Para Olympic Team, Hueftel explained that “...“nobody cares” means that we’re all going through something and you have to work on yourself. The only thing holding yourself back is what’s between your ears. What’s holding you back is yourself, no one else.” Hueftle also talked about the different prosthesis, how they are designed and how they function and work for him.
After lunch, students attended three breakout sessions. First they attended, Common Ground who presented “What’s A GMO” and “Cattle and the Environment”. Diane Karr from Blue Hill, a diversified farmer, spoke about how they raise their livestock, crops and care for the environment.
Next, The State Peer Officer Team (SPOT) presented a session titled “SPOT the Difference FCCLA National Programs Can Make”. Members learned about the different peer education programs and came up ideas for activities and projects that could be done within each project. Members were also given ideas on how to prepare for the peer education officer application and interviews.
Last, Nebraska Strong presented “Nebraska Entrepreneurs Surviving the Flood”. The mayor of Dannebrog spoke on the 2019 Flood. As the town mayor, owner of the Danish Bakery, and hospice coordinator, she played multiple roles in dealing with the immediate flood and its recovery. She explained how the community came together, along with then numerous volunteers, to keep the businesses open and help to clean and repair people’s homes.
Members enjoyed the day and found Hueftel’s session to be the most inspiring. “I took away that nobody knows what you are going through, so you just need to keep on pushing and reaching for your goals,” stated Shayla Jacobsen.