By Matt Hoover
USD 475 Communications Coordinator
JUNCTION CITY, Kan. - The Junction City High School FCCLA Chapter will have five students compete at the National FCCLA LifeSmarts Competition on Nov. 10-12 in Birmingham, Ala.
Competing at the national competition, which will take place during the National FCCLA Fall Conference, will be juniors Nicole Green, Gracie Erichsen, Shevy Olson and Kourtney Dibben, as well as freshman Brittney Dibben. To qualify for the competition, the quintet had to finish in the top-40 in the nation to advance.
By placing in the top-40 nationally out of 80 teams, the Blue Jays, who are the first national qualifying FCCLA team from JCHS, are the only team from the state of Kansas to advance to compete at the fall conference.“ I am so proud of them for devoting extra time and using their expertise to qualify for the national competition. They really support each other and have worked so hard to accomplish their goals. I cannot wait to see how they do on the national level against teams from across the nation,” said Joanna Erichsen, JCHS FCCLA advisor
.In order to qualify, JCHS took a combined exam over family and consumer science knowledge in six areas: personal finance, consumer rights and responsibilities, technology, health and safety, environment and FCCLA knowledge .Junction City High School will open competition in Alabama on Friday, Nov. 10. If the Blue Jays finish in the top-16 they will then advance to the FCCLA National Championships in July. Attached Picture (left to right) - Nicole Green (Junior), Gracie Erichsen (Junior), Shevy Olson (Junior), Brittney Dibben (Freshman) and not pictured Kourtney Dibben (Junior).