Suppose you are interested in obtaining a culinary arts education and want merit-based scholarship money to help fund your education. In that case, you may want to consider the FCCLA and the financial opportunities it offers for young and talented aspiring chefs.
What is The FCCLA?
FCCLA (Family, Career, and Community Leaders of America) is a nonprofit national career and technical organization for in-school students attending public and private institutions nationwide. The Mission of FCCLA is “to promote personal growth and leadership development through Family and Consumer Sciences education.” FCCLA operates out of the state of Virginia yet hosts student-participation events at the local, regional, and national levels all around the country.
FCCLA currently has a membership base of over 205,000 men and women in almost 6,500 national chapters. Members may meet at their local chapter meetings, regional or district summits, state conferences, or The National Leadership Conference, which is hosted in a different city each year.
Competitive Events
FCCLA hosts various annual competitive events where members can compete in either a team or individualized setting. FCLA offers STAR events (Students Taking Action with Recognition) twice a year for students to demonstrate their skills and leadership abilities. Students competing will work their way up: first at the local level, then possibly moving on to the National Cluster Meetings, and finally the National Leadership Conference.
This year’s Skills Demonstration Events at the National Cluster Meetings (NCM) are Chicken Fabrication, Food Art, and Knife Skills. The NCM will take place in November. Although the FCCLA does not offer scholarships for these specific events at the NCM, some colleges and universities will offer scholarships to students who provide proof of their participation.
Possible Scholarships
STAR events at this year’s National Leadership Conference (NLC) take place from July 7th- 11th in Nashville and include competitions within Culinary Arts. Students that reach the National Leadership Conference level are able to obtain scholarships and awards provided by the FCCLA in connection with different colleges that offer culinary programs across the country. Here is a list of the scholarship opportunities for Culinary Arts competitors:
The Culinary Institute of America
The Culinary Institute of America will offer scholarships to the top 3 placing teams at the NLC. To utilize the scholarship, winners must meet all of the institute's admissions requirements by December 2013.
• The 1st place team: $4,000 per year to each team member
• 2nd place team: $3,000 per year
• 3rd place team $2,000 per year.
Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts
The Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts will offer scholarship opportunities to the participants of the top 3 placing teams to utilize at either their Boulder, CO campus or their Austin, TX campus.
• 1st place team: $10,000 to each team member
• 2nd place team: $7,000 to each team member
• 3rd place team: $5,000 to each team member
Johnson and Wales University
Johnson and Wales University will offer $1,000 scholarship opportunities to members of the highest scoring team. This scholarship is renewable each year and can total $4,000 for each winner.
Kendall College
Kendall College will offer scholarship opportunities to the top 3 place teams at the conference. To utilize scholarships, participants must fulfill all admissions requirements and enroll at Kendall College within 12 months of their high school graduation.
• 1st place: $1,500 per quarter to each team member
• 2nd place: $1,250 per quarter to each team member
• 3rd place: $1,000 per quarter to each team member
Le Cordon Bleu (Closed)
Le Cordon Bleu Schools North America will also offer scholarships to the participants of the top 3 teams. These are one-time scholarships that are included in a student’s 2-year tuition costs.
• 1st place: Each team member will receive a full tuition offer
• 2nd place: $7,500 offer for each team member
• 3rd place: $5,000 scholarship offer to each team member
Sullivan University
Sullivan University will offer scholarships that are payable over 6 quarters to the top 3 placing teams.
• 1st Place Team – $10,000 to each team member
• 2nd Place Team – $8,000 to each team member
• 3rd Place Team – $5,000 to each team member
Membership
If you are a prospective culinary arts student hoping to receive financial assistance to fund your education, you should consider becoming a member of the Family, Career and Community Leaders of America.
Any student through grade 12 who has taken a course in Family and Consumer Sciences (FCS) is eligible for active membership in an organized local chapter of the FCCLA. Family and Consumer Sciences is an academic discipline that combines social and natural science. Topics covered within Family and Consumer Sciences education include nutrition, food preparation, family economics, resource management, design, and food management.
The State Department of Education typically determines if a course is FCS approved. Students and families will become national members after their state and national dues are paid.
For more information about the organization, their skills competitions, or available scholarships, visit http://www.fcclainc.org/.
Comments
No Comments