AHS Students Receive National Recognition for Community Service Projects

ALTON - Three Alton High School students were recognized for their contributions to the community through Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA).

Throughout the last year, the students completed community projects as a part of FCCLA’s STAR Events program, which encourages leadership and problem-solving skills. Michael Collman and Olesha Holmes received silver medals for their projects, and sophomore Adelia Sandifer won first place in the nation. They were recognized by the Alton School Board during their meeting on July 18.

“You have to earn this. It takes a lot of practice, a lot of work, a lot of corrections, a lot of editing to get to this level,” said Regina Birch, who oversees the Alton FCCLA chapter with Jennifer Austin. “It’s very tough.”

The STAR (Students Taking Action for Recognition) Events program asks students to conceptualize and complete community-based projects over the course of the school year. The students are judged, and the top projects in the state advance to the national level.

At the school board meeting, Birch explained that Sandifer’s award-winning project repurposed the high school’s food waste. She worked with the high school to donate leftover food to local food pantries.

“It was ending up in the trash, and Addie [Sandifer] did not like that,” Birch said. “She wanted to figure out a way that we could repurpose it and get it to the food banks so that they could have a better use of this food besides the trash.”

Sandifer calculated that the school disposed of 500 pounds of food every week. Now, that food is going to the pantries.

Birch expressed pride for her students and their work. She added that Collman is serving as one of five state officers with the Illinois FCCLA Association. Birch herself received the 2023 Carl Perkins Community Service Award for her work as a teacher and FCCLA advisor, a nod from the Association for Career and Technical Education that could lead to national recognition later this year.

“Mikey [Collman] said, ‘What’d you get that for?’ And I said, ‘Well, it’s really for all the work you guys do,’” Birch said. “We’re very proud of them, and they did an outstanding job.”

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