EIGHTH GRADER WINS NATIONAL GOLD MEDAL
ethel Park
BETHEL PARK SCHOOL DISTRICT
EIGHTH GRADER WINS NATIONAL GOLD MEDAL
It ’ s always great to earn a Gold Medal , but it ’ s especially fun to earn one in an Olympic year !
That was the case for Independence Middle School eighth grader Kelly Katilius , who actually earned not one , but two Gold Medals — one at the State level and one at the National level .
Kelly earned her Gold Medals from the Family Career and Community Leaders of America ( FCCLA ) in the Junior Life Planning category .
She received her first Gold Medal at the FCCLA State Competition , held last March in Gettysburg . Her state victory and her high point total qualified her to compete at the FCCLA National Competition , which was held in July in San Diego , CA .
Preparation for these two competitions began last fall , when Kelly , through her participation in the FCCLA Club at IMS , decided that she wanted to compete at the State Competition .
She was inspired by a visit to her school from a group of FCCLA students from Bethel Park High School , who annually pay a visit to the younger students to talk about FCCLA and what the group does .
“ I was so impressed with what the high school students had to say about competing at FCCLA ,” said Kelly . “ They encouraged all of us in the room to take on the challenge of competing at States . When they talked about it , they were so positive , almost radiant , and I knew right then that this was something I wanted to do .” The next question was to decide which event she should prepare to compete in , and Kelly selected the Junior Life Event Planning category . Her next step would be to select a Life Event to plan for , and she decided on “ My First Apartment ” as her event . Kelly watched her older sister go through the process of setting up her first apartment as a student at the University of Pittsburgh , and Kelly thought that would be a life event worth researching .
She prepared for the State Competition by using the Chromebook computer that the school provides every Independence Middle School student , to conduct research about the things she would need to know about leasing and furnishing her first apartment — including leasing costs , up-front costs , moving costs and furnishing costs . She also prepared an oral presentation about her project .
“ Kelly used several of the STEAM ( Science , Technology , Engineering , Arts and Math ) concepts in creating her project ,” said IMS Family and Consumer Science Teacher Heather Fontana . “ This really was more than designing a good looking presentation . Kelly did an extensive amount of research and created meaningful charts and diagrams to explain her work .
“ She also did a fantastic job of incorporating the skills that she learned in her Seventh Grade Family and Consumer Science class into her project . During our unit on Consumerism , we talk a great deal about being a good consumer and about the importance of budgeting . She carried that information directly from the classroom into her project .”
At the State Competition , three judges reviewed her binder , listened to her oral presentation and asked her questions . Her project was good enough to receive a Gold Medal , and her high score qualified her to advance to Nationals in July .
In addition to awarding her a Gold Medal , the State Judges also provided Kelly with some valuable feedback on how she could improve her presentation for Nationals . This was advice she willingly accepted , and she immediately transformed
54 Bethel Park
The smile is genuine as Kelly Katilius stands by the banner for Gold Medal winners at the FCCLA National Competition in San Diego .
their suggestions into revisions to her binder as well as her presentation .
Kelly spent four days in early July in beautiful San Diego as part of the FCCLA ’ s National Competition . Her first day was spent participating in an event orientation process , and on the second day she gave her revised presentation and binder to a panel of three National Judges .
Her third day at Nationals was a “ down ” day , as the judges processed their results to determine who would be presented with awards the next day . At the Awards Ceremony on the fourth day , Kelly was the only student among the 30 competitors in her event to earn a Gold Medal .
“ I felt this huge rush of adrenalin as I walked onstage to receive my medal ,” she said . “ I just couldn ’ t stop smiling !”
Besides winning a Gold Medal at Nationals , Kelly thoroughly enjoyed her experience in San Diego , calling it “ amazing ” and “ energetic .” Her favorite experience outside of the competition was the July 4 fireworks display she was able to see from her hotel .
Kelly is already preparing for the 2017 FCCLA State Competition , which will be held in Seven Springs . This year she will be competing in the Recycle and Redesign event . This event encourages students to take an old , unusable item and repurpose it . IMS Librarian Patty Heasley provided Kelly with several broken Chromebook screens that Kelly will be redesigning to make them look like windows . After the competitions , the “ windows ” will