Rachel Lyons and Brooke Nafziger of Goessel competed at a national leadership conference June 28 to July 2 in Atlanta of Family, Career, and Community Leaders of America.

Both girls won medals for their Students Taking Action for Recognition projects.

Rachel competed in job interview. She submitted a portfolio showcasing her career-related skills and experience as well as personal achievements and coursework related to the position she was seeking as a youth worker in a local recreational facility.

After reviewing Rachel’s portfolio, judges conducted a mock interview. She received a gold medal.

Brooke competed in an event in which members apply recycling and redesign skills learned in Family and Consumer Sciences courses and create a display showing a newly re-created product.

Her project, “Project Pillowcase: A Case for a Dress,” focused on turning pillowcases into dresses.

Brooke turned her event into a community service project, collaborating with Real Hope for Haiti to send dresses to young girls staying in clinics in Haiti.

She organized a community event in November, in which FCCLA chapter members and Goessel community members worked together to make nearly 60 dresses.

The design for the dresses was not new, but judges gave Brooke a silver medal for the service element she incorporated into her project.

“By competing in STAR events, both Rachel and Brooke demonstrated leadership and perseverance,” adviser Brittany Hiebert said. “They learned a lot from the experiences of seeing their projects through and spending time with other leaders across the country. They are excited to get others involved in STAR events in the coming year.”

More than 4,200 students competed in the contest.