Ewing students attend peer education conference

The Ewing FCCLA chapter joined more than 450 other Nebraska FCCLA members and advisers at the state peer education conference, in Kearney, Feb. 24.

Freshmen Olga Mendoza and Emma Hoffman, along with their adviser, Chelsey Greene, participated in the conference. The theme of the meeting was “SPOT The Difference Peer Education is Making.”

The state peer officer team has joined state officers to promote the Live Like Lisa kindness challenge. Members are encouraged to nominate other chapter members or advisers who go above and beyond to be the kindest person that they can be.

Candidates for the 2020-2021 state peer officer team were also introduced during the conference and a variety of peer education awards were presented.

In addition, there were several speakers and sessions. Keynote speaker was Kevan Hueftle, a Eustis native. He shared his experiences of losing his leg in a hunting accident and training to be a runner with a prosthetic leg. He also spoke about how he was able to overcome adversity and how members can as well.

Hueftle has competed for Team USA in the Parapan American Games in Peru, as well as the World Para Athletics Championships in Dubai.

He is currently training to participate in the Paralympic trials for a chance to compete in the Tokyo Paralympic games.

There were also three breakout sessions, the first was “SPOT the Difference Peer Education Can Make!” In this session, state peer officers educated members about peer teams and how to use FCCLA as a tool for success.

Diane Karr and Morgan Wrich, members of the CommonGround organization, educated members of the importance of agriculture in Nebraska. They shared about their families’ experiences with agriculture and how agriculture has impacted their lives. The purpose of CommonGround is to personalize experiences, as well as science and research, to help consumers sort through myths and misinformation surrounding food and farming.

Carol Schroeder, mayor of Dannebrog, a home healthcare nurse and former owner of the Danish Baker, spoke about being “Nebraska Strong and Dannebrog Determined” and how the community survived the 2019 flood. She gave several different viewpoints on the flooding and talked about emotional aspects as well.