Horlick High Senior Wins Gold Medal for Energy Conservation Presentation

As Tiffani Gaede,a senior at Horlick High School in Racine, looks forward to her first year at Marquette University in the fall, she said.

She’s also proud of the gold medal she won in the Career and Technical Program’s
Family Career and Community Leaders of America competition.

Charged with hosting a family information night at a local school, Tiffani and her group presented ways adults and children can consider saving energy. Then, they created a portfolio to showcase the event. Four judges reviewed their work.

“We had a guest speaker from an energy company called We Energies, and that was for the adults,” said Tiffani, who plans to pursue a career as a physician’s assistant.

“Then we also read a Magic School Bus book on how energy gets from the power plant to the light bulb for the kids.”

Planning the night took about two months, she said, adding she wasn’t completely happy with the organization of the presentation. But judges liked the results and the team was chosen to compete at the state level. Due to scheduling conflicts though, Tiffani and her partner had to opt out.

Other projects in the competition included a dress design, and a financial plan for raising a baby.

Tiffani also takes part in Model UN, which is a school-run activity that focuses on considering views of other countries, she said.

“It’s like the UN, in that we go in different schools and pretend that we are different nations and solve problems,” she said. “It’s not like a competition. It’s just to see if your committee can plan resolutions.”

With A and B grades, and a 24 on the ACT test, Tiffani said she also balances academics with community involvement and holding a part time job. Currently, she works as a clerical staffer at Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare and volunteers at Little Saints Daycare as well. She played varsity volleyball, softball and tennis through her junior year and said her mother, Tracy, has been her biggest inspiration.

“She has just always encouraged me throughout high school,” she said.