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Business brilliance in the making

More than 90 members of the Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) posed outside of the Pepsi Center in early February at a district conference.

By Maria Pangalos, RCHS Intern; photo courtesy of Allie Johnson

One quarter million middle school, high school and college students all around the nation are partaking in a non-profit organization to further develop their business skills, public speaking, participate in workshops, compete in events, expand networking, and open doors unimaginable.  
Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) partners with Distributive Education Clubs of America (DECA) and three other programs to ensure the success of the next business generation.  In 1937, Dr. Hamden L. Forkner created FBLA.  Since then, it’s grown into the largest business career student organization on an international scale.  There are 20,000 middle school students, 215,000 high schoolers, more than 11,000 college students, 3,000 professionals, and more than 11,000 advisors, with the numbers constantly growing.  

Every spring, FBLA state competitions are held and the winners qualify for nationals in the summer.  This year, FBLA state is from April 23-25 in Vail, Colorado, with 38 Rock Canyon High School (RCHS) students competing.  

DECA nationals are from April 25-30 in Orlando, Florida.  Two RCHS students are competing, Allie Johnson in sales presentation and Marissa Metcalf for principles of business administration.  FBLA nationals are close behind DECA nationals, this year as they’re being held in Chicago from June 29-July 2.  

The competitions provide ample opportunity for networking and getting one’s name out there.  “So much of the business world today is just who you know and what you know.”  said FBLA member, Mathivadhani Harikrishnan.  

FBLA and DECA both give students a taste of what modern era, real-life business is like and provides different types of scholarships for students.  If an award is received, it’s recognized as a national award, which looks very good on resumes, transcripts and applications.   

“After hearing what an amazing organization it was, I joined and have loved being a part of it ever since,”  said FBLA student president at RCHS, Allie Johnson.  Johnson, a senior at RCHS, has participated in FBLA for the last three years and has been to one national competition for desktop publishing.  

FBLA and DECA provide so many fascinating opportunities for young and old to take part in leading not only national, but international business for years to come.

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