A Panther Valley senior recently shared a student-created project with Family and Consumer Sciences educators from across the country at a national conference in Pittsburgh.

Kyle Pettis of Lansford presented at the American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences Leadership Summit held this past weekend.

His workshop, titled “Students as Program Ambassadors: Building Advocacy through Promotional Video,” was based on a class project undertaken last year in Panther Valley’s Interpersonal Communication course.

As part of the project, students filmed and edited a promotional video highlighting Panther Valley’s FCS program. Pettis took a leading role in the production, directing and completing much of the video editing himself.

“Working on the promo video was fun and made understand that there is a lot of work to be done behind the scenes,” Pettis said.

“Kyle truly shined during this project,” Julian Costa, Panther Valley FCS teacher, who also presented at the conference, said. “He was very dedicated to helping his classmates and ensuring that the project turned out well.”

Workshop participants, most of whom were FCS teachers, were introduced to the process of planning and producing a similar project in their own schools. The workshop included strategies for developing a promotional video as well as basic filming and video editing techniques.

“Going to Pittsburgh was an informative adventure,” Pettis said. “I got to see how important FCS is to so many people, and the experience taught me how to be more adaptive as a communicator.”

The Interpersonal Communication course is one of five high school courses currently offered through Panther Valley’s FCS program. The course is open to students in grades nine through 12th, who may enroll in FCS courses as electives.

Panther Valley’s FCS program was reestablished in 2025 after having been discontinued several years earlier. The program focuses on practical skills and knowledge related to individuals, families, and everyday life.