Sierra Warden, a junior at Fairfax High School, earned a gold medal at the 2023 FCCLA State Leadership Recognition Conference held in Virginia Beach. She competed against other juniors and seniors from across the state in the Career Investigation STAR event placing 3rd in her category. Sierra researched a career in forensic science which matched her exploration of attributes, interests, skills, and academics. City of Fairfax Detective Trey Leightley and Detective Noelle Becker met with Sierra and demonstrated how field testing is done at crimes scenes providing her with hands-on experience.
Additionally, Sierra has been awarded the highly coveted Family, Career & Community Leadership of America Access Scholarship. Over 150 applications were received from FCCLA members from across the country, but Sierra’s application stood out to the esteemed Inclusion, Access, Equity, and Diversity (IAED) Committee - the selection panel for the Access Scholarship. As part of the expectations, the students had to be a nationally affiliated member in good standing and she has been a member since 7th grade competing in STAR events at the state and national level. Sierra was required to provide an academic transcript; a current extracurricular and community involvement resume with contributions made to FCCLA and respond to four extensive essay prompts. The application required letters of recommendation from Ms. Georgina Aye, Principal, and Ms. von Schaack, Chapter Adviser. Unanimously selected as one of only six (6) recipients nationwide, Sierra has been granted a scholarship worth $5,000 to attend the 2023 National Leadership Conference (NLC) in Denver, CO, from July 2-6. This year’s scholarships were generously sponsored by the Governor’s Highway Safety Association (GHSA), Octane Public Relations, and Texas FCCLA. The Access Scholarship, introduced by FCCLA in 2022, was created to provide life-changing opportunities for student members and their chapter advisers to attend NLC.
For more information on FCCLA, please visit www.fcclainc.org