Johnna West, a Saltillo educator with a 35-year teaching tenure, enjoys helping high school students who are planning their careers. She has seen many positive changes in how public school prepares students for employment and careers in adult life. Through Saltillo ISD’s involvement with the Texas Association of Family Career and Community Leaders Association, study courses and planned events help students get hands-on experience within the communities where they live. During FCCLA Week, Mrs. West arranged for the co-Presidents of the school chapter, Garrett Tarver and Christina Wade, to be interviewed by KSST about the benefits of FCCLA activities.
Garrett Tarver is a Senior at Saltillo High School who has plans to attend University of Oklahoma to study Meteorology towards a career in Broadcast Meteorology. He said “FCCLA has helped me with my people skills and leadership skills. It’s given me opportunity to have this radio interview today, and to prepare to meet employers and community leaders which I feel will be useful in college and in the workplace”. Garrett has joined class members during FCCLA Week by preparing and delivering Valentine gifts to staffers of a Mt. Vernon nursing home and the Sulphur Springs Hospital and clinics.
Christina Wade is also a Senior at Saltillo High School. She said, “I plan to enter Texas A&M University Commerce this Fall to major in Kinesiology to become a Physical Therapist Assistant. Then I plan to work toward earning a Masters Degree in Physical Therapy. I enjoy the contact with people of the community as part of FCCLA studies in high school, like with the CASA Cookie Walk. In spite of it’s cancellation for 2021, her class still got to do fundraising and handed over a check to CASA for over $1,000 in support of their work with abused and neglected children in Northeast Texas”.
Both Garrett and Christina have teamed up with class members during FCCLA Week by preparing and delivering Valentine gifts to staffers of a Mt. Vernon nursing home and the Sulphur Springs Hospital and clinics.
Mrs. West concluded by saying that even though the Pandemic has made learning different than in other years, the school has striven to provide meaningful activities for the FCCLA students. She hopes to take them to compete at State FCCLA in person, but if not, they can still have the competition experience on-line with students in other schools across the State.
