Business savvy: FBLA flourishes with achievements at State

FBLA took first in their State competition and shared their experiences and emotions during and after the conference.

The students who were invited to compete in this event expanded more on what FBLA is and what they competed in.

“FBLA (Future Business Leaders of America) is a club which promotes leadership and becoming community-minded business leaders. It has many competitions in various topics related to a diverse array of topics in businesses. I competed in Impromptu Speaking,” said junior Jayashri Madan.
Junior Rachel Garich expanded more on the different conferences that are available for FBLA and what event she participated in.

“They hold many competitive conferences throughout the year including the area conference (for us, the Northern Illinois area), the State Leadership Conference, and the National Leadership Conference, along with non-competitive events such as the Illinois Fall Retreat and the National Fall Leadership Conference. I competed in Public Apeaking,” Garich said.

Being part of a state event and representing one’s school is a very big honor and an amazing experience for students competing because of the dedication and preparation that came before.

“Being at State was an overall blast, and I personally loved the sense of anticipation that came from preparing for my event,” said junior Q Adkisson.

Sometimes an idea or goal can become reality, and it can be extremely exciting being present for all the different parts of the event and seeing things come together as a whole.

“Being at State was a blast. Being able to see so many different chapters was by far my favorite part of the whole event,” Adkisson said.

FBLA’s sponsor Harper Fischer talked about the preparations and qualifications for Nationals for first place winner Rachel Garich.

“With her first place win, Rachel has qualified for Nationals, which will be held in late June in Atlanta, Georgia. This will be Rachel’s second trip to Nationals. She qualified for the Illinois State FBLA team last year in the event called Job Interview. She had to submit a professional cover letter and resume which were judged, as well as participate in a “mock” job interview that was judged as well,” Fischer said.