(Riverton, WY) – Riverton High School’s Tessa Kenyon joined the County 10 Podcast after returning from Washington D.C. where she attended the FCCLA National Convention.
FCCLA or Family, Career and Community Leaders of America, turned into a passion for Tessa in 8th grade. Kenyon told us that it was instructor Kelli Gard who first inspired her to join the club. What started as a simple suggestion turned into a multi-year effort that culminated with the organization’s most prestigious honor in the nation’s capital.
Kenyon was chosen as an FCCLA National Officer. Specifically, she’s National Vice President of Programs. To put the honor into a little perspective, there’s over 270,000 members in the country. Tessa was the only selection from the state. Wyoming’s last representative for a national officer position was when Wright’s Shelby Smith achieved it in 2021.
Kenyon knew that she was a candidate, but most don’t receive the high ranking designation. After the candidates received a letter revealing their fate, Tessa waited to open hers until she was in her hotel room surrounded by her mom, her sister and her advisor. “I literally got to ‘Dear Tessa Kenyon. Congratulations, you’ve been’ — and I couldn’t stop crying. I cried all my makeup off that I had put on that morning.”
She’ll now work to represent those 270,000+ members. Next month she flies back across the country to Virginia for an FCCLA planning meeting. She’ll go to Disney’s Imagination Campus, help plan the 2027 National Convention and much more along the way.
Hear our full interview with Tessa by clicking the player below or wherever you get podcasts by searching for the County 10 Podcast!
