Oklahoma Student Leads National FCCLA Organization

For the first time in over 20 years, the national president of FCCLA is from Oklahoma.

Brandon Weibel, a senior at Silo High School and one of ten national officers, joined News 9 Sunday morning to talk about it.

Becoming the National President

Tevis: Tell me exactly what you'll do as the president nationally.

Brandon Weible: "Absolutely, so I serve as the top youth executive for our organization called FCCLA, which is the Family, Career and Community Leaders of America. I help program implementation, facilitating our conferences and leading our 10-person national officer team."

Tevis: You're the president for all the United States. I mean, this is pretty big.

Developing Leadership Skills

Tevis: What does FCCLA do to help other kids that want to be involved?

Brandon Weible: "FCCLA helps equip students with leadership capabilities that are going to help them succeed in their home, their workplace and their community. Our central focus is family, so it makes us really diverse in that aspect."

Overcoming Challenges

Tevis: You're from a small community here in Oklahoma, tell me you made it to the big stage. How did you get there?

Brandon Weible: "I made it from all of my supporters within my local town. I have been pushed by so many different people that have really just helped me succeed. My amazing advisor, which is my teacher. She really saw something in me, helped bring that out. And then all the people in Oklahoma that pushed me to run for such a big office and supported me throughout that journey."

Traveling and Networking

Tevis: You'll get to travel. Tell me about the traveling. I'm so excited for you.

Brandon Weible: "Last month, I just got back from Anaheim, California, and went to Disneyland for the first time. It was really fun. I get to go to a lot of cool places. So I've already been to California. I'll go back. And then in July, we have our National Leadership Conference, which is in Orlando, Florida."

Tevis: You've gotten to meet a lot of people as well. Just tell me a little bit about getting to meet people, connect with people, and how it's gonna help you in the future.

Brandon Weible: "When I first started FCCLA, it was my school project, so I just met the people in my community, but I went to my first conference and realized that I can meet people from all over. So I started meeting people from all over the state of Oklahoma, and it really changed my outlook on things. I get to talk to such a diverse group of people who change my outlook on things and really leave a mark on me kind of bigger than Oklahoma."

Opportunities for Involvement

Tevis: I want to talk about FCCLA. I mean, it might be, is it in every school here in the state? How can I get involved? What does that look like?

Brandon Weible: "FCCLA is a career and technical student organization, so it follows our career and technology education system. So it is in high school and post-secondary programs across the nation."

Tevis: And is there a commitment? I mean, do you have to do this every single day, or will you have some time off?

Brandon Weible: "It's a privilege. I get to put on this I like to represent this organization, so I do get some time off, but I love all of my time in the red laser."