On April 16-17, a group of eight girls enrolled in sewing at Libertyville High School attended the annual Family, Consumer, and Career Leaders of America state competition in Springfield. Out of those eight who attended, six received a gold medal and three of those six got “Most Outstanding,” but only one of those six, Anna Mackey, received the ultimate prize: first in the state of Illinois.
“I kinda knew I would get a first because I got a first at regionals. I made a little black dress, kinda ‘50s [style] because I added the stuff at the bottom to make it stiff. So then I kinda expected it also because the judges, when I went in there, they were like ‘what do you think we thought of this’ and I was like ‘well, I hope you liked it!’ and they were like ‘well that’s an understatement! We loved it!’” Mackey explained.
Mackey wasn’t the only one who saw her dress as deserving of first in state in the competition.
“Anna’s dress is perfect [in the] the sewing technique. It was a Vogue pattern, which are typically harder patterns to follow. It had some unusual features in it that she had never done before, it fits her perfectly… But the technique in the sewing is beyond, it’s the highest quality, there was really nothing [wrong with it]. She maybe made one minor adjustment between local and state, a little bit of hand-sewing she redid and that was all it took,” gushed Mrs. Monica Patterson, Mackey’s clothing construction teacher.
LHS has been sending students to the FCCLA competition for about 10 years and the students have to be selected by a teacher to be able to attend. First the students have to go through a local contest in Lake County and then, if they place there, they go on to state in Springfield. FCCLA represents all of the areas of the family and consumer science department at LHS: child development, clothing, fashion, interior design, and consumer.
“ The competition is so much fun, this group of girls that they go with are friends with each other; not only do they compete but they form a bond and when we’re in Springfield they get to walk around and explore the city a little bit and going has a lot of pride attached to it, but it’s a teacher selective process,” Mrs. Patterson commented.
“In class she’s really energetic and she is very helpful to the kids who are just learning how to sew,” Mackey’s friend and fellow classmate junior Morgan Zupkus said of her. “She just has a lot of passion, drive, and she’s really good at it, she’s been doing it for a long time.”
The faculty at LHS have also noticed Mackey’s eagerness to learn and help others.
“She was my student of the month as a junior and I couldn’t say enough about her,” Mrs. Patterson admitted. “Mature, a leader, helpful to others, considerate, and very humble… she teaches [young girls] how to sew, she volunteers for costume, anything that I have ever asked her to do, it’s done. You don’t even have to think twice about it, so she’s a star model; the kind of kid you wish you had 20 more of.”
After placing in the FCCLA competition last year and receiving first overall this year, Mackey is excited to see where she will be next year.
“It’s just really fun,” Mackey said of the process of competing. “I’ve been getting better, obviously: I went from just a first place [last year] to first overall.”
