By TENA L. COOK, CSC MARKETING COORDINATOR
CHADRON – Two Wyoming high school students advised by Chadron State College alum Devin Shimic Wells placed second in a national contest with a presentation about their food pantry in the Gillette, Wyoming, area. Thunder Basin High School students Paizley Tyrrell and Makiah Johnson qualified for nationals in Seattle with their presentation in Cheyenne at the Wyoming State competition of Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA).
Wells said the national judges were excited to hear that the Thunder Basin High School FCCLA chapter would continue to use the food pantry.
“They loved how we worked with the elementary schools in our area to continue to fill the box by conducting food drives,” said Wells, who is married to Ryan Wells, a 2011 CSC graduate.
Wells, who graduated from CSC with a bachelor’s degree in 2012 and a master’s degree in 2015, said she was impressed how Tyrrell and Johnson took the initiative to obtain a donated box and graphics.
Wells said the school’s administrative team will provide materials for a welding class to create a sturdier box and paint it for the 2024-25 school year.
Before transferring to Thunder Basin in 2017, Wells taught at Twin Spruce Junior High School in Gillette. She’s taught a wide variety of classes, including eighth-grade Family and Consumer Science, Child and Family Studies, Introduction to Early Childhood Education, Advanced Early Childhood Education, Fashion and Textile Design I and II, and Food, Nutrition, and Wellness. She also directed Cafe Latte, a school-based food business.