Future Business Leaders Association (FBLA) prepares students for careers in business through competitions and leadership/workforce skill development. In November, FBLA members competed at their regional event (RLC), where they had 15 people place. On March 11, members traveled to Ocean City to compete for their State Leadership Conference (SLC) and 10 people placed.

To compete in states, members must either qualify at regionals or register for state-only events. “There’s some state-only events, where you can compete at states first. Other events you have to place in the top four at regionals to make states,” FBLA Southwestern Region Vice President Laya Kudaravalli said.

The FBLA State Leadership Conference (SLC) is a premier two- to three-day spring event where members compete in business-related events, attend workshops and elect state officers. Top winners advance to the National Leadership Conference. It features objective tests, presentations and networking to build leadership skills.

FBLA offers a wide range of events, including business management and digital animation. Some of these events require presentations or role play. “I presented data analysis, they do a different prompt every year. This year I had to give spreadsheets about past Olympic history, how many medals each country had and different demographics,” Kudaravalli said.

Another business event students participated in is digital video video production. Elements of this event include a pre-judged project and a live presentation about a topic. “My project was about an FBLA alumni and walked through the process to the judge,” junior Surie Zhang said.

Students can also compete with a partner and or be in a group. “My partner and I did event planning for our business event. We planned and hosted a nail fundraiser,” sophomore Anya Sharm said.

The FBLA state conference isn’t solely just constant competition. Members have the opportunity to have some down time to enjoy the scenery of Ocean City. “It was pretty fun, we went to Ocean City so I liked the location. Competing was pretty stressful, the boardwalk at night was my favorite,” Zhang said.

Students also had opportunities to meet other participants. Social interactions helped build connections beyond their own club. “A group of girls asked if we wanted to go to dinner with them and we said yes. We went to a sports bar and we became friends,” sophomore Anya Sharma said.

Networking is an important part of the conference experience. Members can meet students from chapters of different sizes and backgrounds. “I met chapter presidents of different chapters such as Urbana that have 300 members. I also met small chapters with eight people, which reminded me of our club last year,” Kudaravalli said.

At FBLA states they also have state officer elections. To be a candidate members must apply in December and then at states members host a campaign and find out if they won.

FBLA is a wonderful opportunity to grow as a leader, according to members. Through its competitive events and conferences, students can grow in public speaking, critical thinking and collaboration. The organization allows students to make powerful connections that can last a lifetime.