Grinnell 10th grader designs dress, taking it National FCCLA Leadership Conference

​       Kevin Hernedez-Robles, a tenth graders at Grinnell High School and member of the school’s FCCLA Chapter, is shown with the evening gown he designed and sewed that won first place at state and is headed for nationals in Washington, D.C. The dress is being modeled by Delana Eakins. Hernedez-Robles FCCLA Chapter advisor and teacher is Amy Skouson. Submitted photo.

J.O. Parker & Amy Skouson
 
      Kevin Hernandez-Robles, a 10th grader at Grinnell High School and a member of the FCCLA (Family, Career and Community Leaders of America) Chapter at the school and inspiring dress designer, is headed to nationals.
        Hernandez-Robles, who designed and created an evening gown that took first place at state in March, is taking his creation to the National FCCLA Leadership Conference, July 6 -10, in Washington, D.C.
     He is one of 16 Grinnell students and FCCLA members headed to nationals with their creations. Hernandez-Robles will be competing in the Fashion Design (Level 2) category.
          It all started thanks to Amy Skouson, the Family Consumer Science teacher at Grinnell High School.
Hernandez-Robles was enrolled in a culinary arts course last fall when he asked Skouson, who was teaching the course, if she would like to see some of his dress design drawings.
        “He got out an iPad and showed me some pretty incredible dresses that he’d designed using a drawing app,” said Skouson. “My immediate response was that he had to compete in the FCCLA Fashion Design contest. The problem is, of course, that drawing a dress is not the same as knowing how to pattern and sew one.”
       It just happened that Patty Green (grandmother of senior, Diane Boyd) had just gotten a new sewing machine and had given Skouson her old machine.
         “I sent the sewing machine home with Kevin,” said Skouson. “He spent weeks going through the manual, painstakingly learning each feature of the machine. Every day, he brought me samples that he’d sewn.”
At that time, Hernandez-Robles was coming to FCCLA on Wednesday afternoons. Skouson said he’d bring baked goods for everyone each week.
     “When his mom’s work schedule changed, the inspiring dress designer needed to be home every afternoon to care for his baby brother,” noted Skouson. “My first period culinary class was really small, so I was able to do an independent study with him during that period.”
          That is where Hernandez-Robles learned to drape his dress on a mannequin. 
         “He first did it in junk fabric, corrected the pattern, then fabricated the entire dress with bright red fleece and corrected the pattern again,” said Skouson. “We bought some fashion fabric and he used his pattern to make the dress.”
       As part of his dress competition project, Hernandez-Robles was required to explain his inspiration, develop a brand and labeling, research fibers and fabrics, do the fashion illustrations for the entire line and write and perform a 15 minute speech. 
         “Kevin caught on really quickly to everything I taught him,” noted Skouson. “He did lots of research on his own and would make suggestions for sewing and pattern making methods I hadn’t thought of that he learned on his own.”
           Hernandez-Robles has only lived in the United States for three years.
       “As a native Spanish speaker, writing and performing a 15 minute speech was very daunting,” said Skouson. “He wrote his original script in Spanish and translated it to English using Google Translate. Then he went through and marked every word that was too difficult for him to understand or pronounce.”
           Skouson and Hernandez-Robles worked together, finding words that he was more comfortable with.
      “He reached out to Spanish teacher, Danielle McDonough, and she helped him practice his pronunciation,” recalled Skouson. “She even recorded herself reading his speech aloud so that he could practice with it. He said he listened to it all the time. He said it was his “podcast.’”
Overcoming challenges
         At districts and state, Hernandez-Robles faced big challenges in his competition when judges said his work was too good.
          “At districts, the judges didn’t believe that this 10th grade student made his pattern himself and docked him accordingly,” said Skouson. 
          At state, the judges said that his drawings were “the best use of AI they’d seen,” noted Skouson. “Except they weren’t AI – they were hand drawn.”
       Despite the setbacks, Hernandez-Robles won the state FCCLA Fashion Design contest and qualified to compete at nationals.
      “He’s changed every drawing to read ‘Drawings done by hand with a stylus on an iPad using the Sketchbook app. No AI was used,’” said Skouson. 
State participants and national qualifiers
         Following are the list of Grinnell High School FCCLA students and their project placings and those headed for nationals next week.
Iowa Events
Addy Belcher — 1st Place, Fashion Sketch (Level 3)
Harper Benesh — 1st Place, Creed Speaking (Level 3)
Liberty & Mia Starrett — Cake Decorating (Level 3)
Abigail Hammond, Lucy Skouson and Finn McDonough — $20 Clothing Challenge
Delana Eakins — Fashion Sketch (Level 2)
Knowledge Bowl
Team A: Addy Belcher, Harper Benesh, Serafina Light, Lucy Skouson, Slane McCue
Team B: Kevin Hernandez-Robles, Jackson Hinkle, Sloane McDonough, Finn McDonough, Delana Eakins
Grilled Cheese Challenge
Abigail Hammond and Serafina Light advanced to the finals with their Chicken Caprese Grilled Cheese
Leadership & Opportunities
Brennen Rasmussen led a workshop sharing his experience as an FCCLA Japanese Exchange Scholarship recipient
Harper Benesh advanced through multiple rounds as a State Officer candidate
STAR Events — National Qualifiers
(Top finishers advance to nationals in Washington, D.C.)
Izzy Boyer — Interior Design (Level 3)
Kevin Hernandez-Robles — Fashion Design (Level 2) (modeled by Delana Eakins)
Sloane and Finn McDonough — Hospitality, Tourism and Recreation (Level 2)
Abigail Hammond, Lucy Skouson and Slane McCue — Hospitality, Tourism & Recreation (Level 3)
Klara Stahl & Jackson Hinkle — Event Management (Level 2)
Liberty and Mia Starrett — Chapter in Review Portfolio (Level 3)
Alicia Turba — Food Innovations (Level 2)
Serafina Light — Teaching Strategies (Level 3)
       With additional national qualifiers from Digital STAR Events, Grinnell FCCLA will be sending an incredible 16 students to Nationals. 
       “We are so proud of these students - and their sponsor - for their hard work, creativity, and leadership,” noted Skouson.