Worthy of A Word or Two

Recently, our younger daughter entered into a competition on a regional collegiate level. This was her second year entering into this particular competition. What she had to do was come up with a proposal, budget, marketing plan, and complaint strategy for a 'company' based on a 'product' they were given. These aspects had to be submitted by the competition deadline. The hardcopy of the proposal and accompanying documents plus a visual aid (poster display) had to be at the competition.

When she has some time to reflect, I am certain she will understand that each step or experience along the way has helped lead up to her experience last week.

Having experienced the business competitions at the state FBLA competitions in Omaha helped build the knowledge and confidence to participate in competitions right along other students from the 'big' schools. It also helped her to learn the meaning of business attire and interview skills.

Having experienced competitive high school speech meets added to her skills. Speech required working on the content, visual displays and delivery of the product. This also brought the experience of delivering a speech in a timely manner as well as being judged competitively for content and form.

Having experienced working on a proposals and budgets, as well as realistic goal setting, added to her skills via her Girl Scouting experience earning badges and different awards.

Having experienced the joy and creative process of the theater started back with a travelling company coming to Southwest Nebraska and those experiences continued during the days of the high school one act competitions, both at the district and state level.

Having experienced of the commitment and hard work it takes to be a part of a successful high school athletic program added to her work ethic and competitive drive.

For the past three years she has been able to work on all her skills and add new ones during her college experience at the University of Nebraska- Kearney. While earning her degree, she has been encouraged by her professors to participate in different aspects of the theater experience from working in the costume shop, stage managing and auditioning and appearing on stage. She also learned ticket management skills working in the athletic department.

All of these steps helped prepare her for the competition this past week at the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival Region V held at Ames, IA. Colleges and universities theater departments from North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Minnesota and Iowa come together once a year to compete in the various aspects of theatre. These include acting, directing, set design, directing, stage management and theater management.

This was Kelsey's third year attending with the theatre department from UNK. Her first year, she went along and observed the competition. Last year she entered the Theatre Management Challenge. She was runner-up. She entered again this year and she won the Region V Theatre Management Challenge.

She spent a good chunk of time during the Christmas holiday working on the various aspects of this competition. She received feedback and support from her dad and me just like we have done before. One of her professors took the time from his break to review her materials and offer critical feedback on her challenge packet.

We would have been proud of her regardless of the outcome. We also know there are those other family members that offered support and encouragement along the way. They travelled those miles to the competitions and plays. We acknowledge the professional educators/coaches who helped her along the way also. (They don't always get a formal thank you but hopefully they will know how much we appreciated their efforts.)

Congratulations Kelsey! You worked hard, enhancing your life skills every day and we are proud of you! Yes, your honor was definitely 'blog-worthy."