SUTTON SHERRARD says another Woodford County High School student, Sydney Williams, introduced her to Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) during her freshman year at WCHS, “and I was just instantly … hooked.” Sutton will travel to Washington, D.C., this week where she will represent FCCLA students from Kentucky at Capital Leadership. (Photo by Bob Vlach)
Being elected as Family, Career and Community Leaders of America’s vice president of programs is an opportunity for Woodford County High School senior Sutton Sherrard to work alongside nine other students on FCCLA’s National Executive Council.The students, who serve as the youth voice for family and consumer sciences at conferences and events across the country, are traveling to Washington, D.C., this week to participate in Capital Leadership. The Nov. 15-19 conference empowers youth to explore civic engagement and workforce readiness, according to a news release from FCCLA.“I have lots of people who’ve been very involved and invested in my FCCLA journey,” says Sutton, speaking to the Sun five days before she was scheduled to leave for D.C. this Saturday, from WCHS graduate Sydney Williams, who got Sutton involved in FCCLA during her freshman year, to another WCHS grad, Eva Kate Probus, who served as state FCCLA president and inspired Sutton to tell herself, “I want to do that.”Sutton says her family and consumer science teachers at WCHS have also played an important role in her journey – most notably RaAnn Miller, “who fostered opportunities for me.”Fittingly, Miller was there when Sutton opened the letter informing her that she was selected to serve on the National Executive Council. “I will never forget her reaction,” Sutton says.Her parents, Kimberly and Rob Sherrard, also came to the national conference so they could support their daughter and her journey to becoming a national officer in FCCLA.“I’ve grown up with just great people who do life with me. They do life with our family. My parents and those around me have just genuinely poured into me as a leader, as a person, as a young woman,” says Sutton, 18.Because she loves living in a small town, Sutton aspires to raise her children in a small town while owning “a very values-driven business.”It was during her freshman year at Woodford County High School when Sutton says Sydney introduced her to Family, Career and Community Leaders of America, “and I was just instantly … hooked.” The travel opportunities that came with joining the student organization were especially intriguing to her after not going on fieldtrips at Woodford County Middle School because of the COVID-19 pandemic. She soon learned being involved with FCCLA was a great opportunity to meet people, and build connections and relationships with them.“I was involved in community service activities that we did, which is a big part of the organization, service and leadership development,” says Sutton.She was elected first vice president of the WCHS chapter of FCCLA during her freshman year and served in that role as a sophomore when she attended her first national conference in Birmingham, Alabama. “And I got the state officer bug – that’s what we call it,” she says.Most students don’t serve as an FCCLA state officer until their senior year, but that didn’t stop her from running for a state office in March 2024. “I’m very ambitious and I love a good challenge,” says Sutton, who was elected Kentucky’s FCCLA president. She served on the state executive council, and by this past January, “I really sought out national office,” she says.Taking her leadership to the next level was a way for Sutton to pursue “countless connections and endless opportunities” during her senior year, she says. The lengthy and sometimes, daunting process of pursuing a national office was “super-cool” because she wanted “to be the first-ever from Woodford County” to reach that level of leadership in FCCLA.“So I was in unchartered territory, but it was super-exciting,” says Sutton. She says being one of 27 candidates for offices at the FCCLA National Leadership Conference and being one of 10 students elected to the National Executive Council “was such an honor,” telling the Sun, “I’m excited to be a Sydney Williams for someone else.”Sutton says she’s looking forward to traveling to the nation’s Capitol to engage with government professionals, attend advocacy and communication workshops, and develop action plans to strengthen family and consumer sciences education, but she also can’t wait to reconnect with the other students on the National Executive Council. They haven’t been in the same place together since August, so that’ll be fun, Sutton says.“Something I really think about is being relational with other people and (nurturing) personal connections,” she says, later adding, “Because you can’t lead if you don’t know who you’re leading.”