By Ryan Kupperman, executive news editor 
Although the FCCLA (Family, Career, Community and Leaders of America) organization nationally recognized FCCLA week as Feb. 12 to Feb. 16, Prospect is promoting the week long event on Feb. 20 to Feb. 23 to raise awareness on helping the community and looking towards careers in technical education.
According to Amy Gordon-Collins, who has been a FCCLA sponsor for 14 years, FCCLA members use the entire month of February, which is “a career in technical education month”, to promote various career pathways related to technical education. Following the end of FCCLA week at Prospect, members will be competing in their regional competition on Feb. 23. Gordon-Collins describes this competition as a science fair centered around consumer science, where students research and present solutions for possible problems in the community such as the benefit of more school service dogs or bilingual education.
According to the FCCLA official website, FCCLA has been a national organization since 1945 open to students, mainly at the high school level.
To sophomore and FCCLA member Mary Hafertepe, the FCCLA organization helps develop leadership skills among students and brings the community closer together. Plus, it allows students to experiment with different career pathways that they might want to follow in the future.
“It really is a fun club to be apart of,” Hafertepe said. “I hope by promoting [FCCLA], it can encourage others to join the club and do events that bring the community together.”