Oklahoma student elected as FCCLA National Officer to lead over 250,000 students
KINGSTON, Okla. - What started as a desire to learn how to cook has turned into a national leadership opportunity for one Kingston High School senior.
Kooper Walker, a senior at Kingston High School, was recently elected as a national officer for Family, Career and Community Leaders of America or FCCLA, after making it through a lengthy selection process that included multiple interviews and more than 20 candidates.
FCCLA gives students opportunities to develop leadership skills through community service, leadership projects, competitions and career-focused activities.
“I joined this class mainly because I wanted to learn how to cook, which is crazy, I know,” Walker said.
Walker said he was encouraged to attend his first FCCLA meeting and quickly realized the organization was something he wanted to be involved in.
“I got pushed to attend my first meeting, and I was like, ‘Wow, I love this,’” Walker said.
After watching other FCCLA leaders, Walker said he began thinking about eventually taking on a leadership role himself.
“It just pushed me to be like, I want to do that one day, and I want to be that person who can do that,” Walker said.
That goal led to months of preparation and multiple rounds of interviews. Walker was ultimately selected as one of just 10 national officers who will help lead more than 250,000 FCCLA students nationwide.
The moment he learned he had been elected came this summer during FCCLA’s National Leadership Conference in Washington, D.C.
“That was the very morning that I found out I got elected to be a national officer, so that was a genuine true reaction,” Walker said.
Walker said he is especially proud to represent his hometown of Kingston on a national stage.
“It’s really amazing to be able to represent just a small town to show that yes, while we might be small and we’re not as big as some other schools, we still have what it takes and can still be great leaders like everyone else,” Walker said.
The experience is also helping Walker prepare for his future. He was recently accepted to Oklahoma State University and plans to major in political science after graduating from Kingston next summer.
“It’s definitely helped give me that concrete foundation of what I want to do in my future, which is to be a politician,” Walker said.