FCCLA Members Explore Career Opportunities in Behavioral Health Fields
Launch the media gallery 1 playerTwo students from the Plainview FCCLA Chapter recently attended the Mind Bending Careers Conference which was hosted collaboratively by Nebraska HOSA-Future Health Professionals and Nebraska FCCLA (Family, Career, and Community Leaders of America). This annual event was hosted on Monday, November 10, 2025, on the University of Nebraska-Kearney campus with over 115 student members from 18 HOSA and FCCLA chapters across the state. Students attending were Kaydance Maertins and Ashlynn Forbes.
This conference, for high school juniors and seniors, brings awareness to careers in the behavioral and mental health fields as well as helps students begin building knowledge and skills to support their pursuit of these careers. The continued support of BHECN (Behavioral Health Education Center of Nebraska) makes this conference possible.
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The event was led by State Officers from Nebraska HOSA and Nebraska FCCLA. Attendees were welcomed to campus by Dr. Toni Hill, Chair of the Department of Counseling, School Psychology, and Family Science in the College of Education. Dr. Hill shared about the opportunities available at UNK and how members’ interest in behavioral and mental health careers could start from undergraduate programs within her department and move into graduate level programs. Dr. Krista Fritson, BHECN Central Director, also shared about the opportunities available to students and practitioners through BHECN and why students should get connected with them early in their career path. HOSA and FCCLA State Officers gave additional greetings and instructions for the day.
This year’s conference offered a series of engaging sessions in health and human services fields, providing students with hands-on experiences in areas including Hands on a Hot Stove- Neuron Reflex Pathways & Pathway Damage A Model Neuron Activity, Child Advocacy Centers, Behavioral Health Urgent Care, Neurodivergent Care & Services, Memory Care, and Social Work.
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A highlight of the conference included a "Mapping Your Story" activity during lunch, designed to help students reflect on their personal journeys and future career aspirations.
Following lunch, students attended undergraduate and graduate student panels discussing career paths in counseling, drug and alcohol treatment, applied behavior analysis, and marriage and family therapy.
The conference aligns with FCCLA's core mission of preparing students for leadership roles in family and consumer sciences careers. The experience is expected to inspire members and provide valuable insights into mental health professions.
Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) is a dynamic and effective national student organization that helps students become leaders and address important personal, family, work, and societal issues through Family and Consumer Sciences education. With over 244,000 members nationwide and 2,600 members in 100 chapters in Nebraska, FCCLA is the only career and technical in-school student organization with a central focus on careers that support families. For more information about FCCLA, please visit www.nebraskafccla.org.
HOSA-Future Health Professionals is a global Career & Technical Student Organization (CTSO) whose mission is to empower members to become leaders in the global health community through education, collaboration, and experience. Members have the opportunity to develop leadership and technical HOSA skill competencies through a program of motivation, awareness, and recognition, which is an integral part of the Health Science Education instructional program. There are over 50 chapters in Nebraska with more than 1,500 members and over 290,000 members globally, HOSA is a viable solution to healthcare industry shortages by ensuring that future health professionals are prepared for college and their health profession of choice. For more information about HOSA, please visit www.nehosa.org.
Nebraska HOSA and Nebraska FCCLA are supported through the Nebraska Center for Student Leadership and Extended Learning at the Nebraska Department of Education.