Belgrade woman gets Spirit of Advising Award

A family and consumer sciences teacher at Manhattan Public Schools received the Spirit of Advising Award at a state conference.

Amanda Swenson, who lives in Belgrade, attended the March 19-20 Montana FCCLA State Leadership Conference in Bozeman last month and was honored with the award at that event.

“She's very supportive and is always there when we need her,” said one of her students, Ethan Romero. “She makes sure her members are going to stay on task and stay diligent, and she's just a very good role model.”

Romero and his peers initially nominated Swenson for the New Adviser of the Year award.

“But they liked her application so much that they pushed it to the Spirit of Advising Award and then she won that,” Ethan said.

In addition to advising the Manhattan FCCLA members, Swenson teaches courses such as culinary arts, personal finance, and fashion textiles.

FCCLA, or Family, Career and Community Leaders of America, is a nationwide student-led, intracurricular Career and Technical Student Organization that’s designed to connect classroom learning to leadership, service, and real-world career preparation. FCCLA isn’t a club but is integrated into Family and Consumer Sciences education.