Dist. 5 Career Campus Students Win Gold in Orlando

Students from the Anderson V Career Campus earned Gold medals at the Family, Career and Community Leaders of America national competition in Orlando, Florida.

Danielle Black, 2012 Westside High School graduate; Emily Taylor, Westside junior; and Shaniqua Little, 2012 Westside graduate; worked as a team to compete in the Hospitality, Tourism and Recreation category. They began working on their project in late December and completed it in March for the State competition. 

The students received Gold medals in the State, then moved on to the Nationals to represent South Carolina and the Anderson V Career Campus.  The students worked with Jenny O'Brien, teacher and advisor;  Jodi Durkee, advisor; and Cathy Benson, director of the Anderson Convention Visitors Bureau; in creating an Agriculture Tour Guide of the seven farms to visit in Anderson County, local restaurants and hotels. Students completed a portfolio, a guide, a website and a brochure to present to the national judges.

The judges were impressed that the students are promoting local farms since people are beginning to want to buy home grown food. One local farm, Happy Cow, sells fresh milk and another, Split Creek Farms, produces and sells fresh goat cheese. The brochure is titled, "Agri-Tourism Adventures in Anderson County," and will be used at the Anderson Convention Visitors Bureau.