Every year students from across Missouri come out and compete in one of the most competitive events in high school history. Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) is a club for determined people who aspire to learn more about the business world and leadership roles through this organization.
According to Robert Collier, “Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out”, and that is exactly what the students here at New Haven High have been exemplifying for the past two months, even with the crazy amount of snow days that made it difficult for some students. But still, New Haven once again showed true leadership and accountability from all their hard work.
Every year, other schools know that New Haven usually takes home the most hardware, and again that's exactly what New Haven did. Overall 35 people made it in the top 5, with 7 of those being groups and 20 people qualifying for state.
The Future Business Leaders of America conference is held at Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri each year, and every year when the event comes around it seems like the weather is getting colder. This year some students woke up as early as 4 A.M. so they could get ready in their business attire, and then make it to their bus that left at 6 A.M.
Lauren Hoerstkamp mentioned, “As I was walking from my car into school, I looked at the temperature on my phone and it said 1 degree. I literally thought I was going to freeze to death during that 2 minute walk from the parking lot to school.”
Once students had made the hour bus ride to Fulton, they right away found their rooms that they would be tested in or where they would present in front of judges. After they had all their business straightened out, the countdown was on. When you walked through the halls you could see these teenagers pacing up and down nervously, practicing their speeches one final time.
We asked some of the students what their favorite part was about the day. Luke Gerlemann commented, “I liked the college atmosphere. We had a college tour and we got to see part of the Berlin Wall which was cool.”
Morgan Branson mentioned, “I liked getting a day out of school and it was cool to dress up for a day.”
We also got a few comments from Kelsey Anderson, the high school business teacher and FBLA adviser. Mrs. Anderson took countless hours helping students prepare for their competitions, listening to students present, and working lots of early mornings and late evenings. Students had to present to her three times in order for them to attend the district competition.
Kelsey Anderson commented, “I was extremely happy with the results from FBLA districts this year. Going in I was nervous, due to all the snow days and rescheduling of practices we had to do, but the students, per usual, stepped up to the plate and did what they needed to do in order to have another very successful year at districts.”
Here at New Haven the Future Business Leaders of America organization has the highest participation percentage of 90%. We wanted to know why students are most interested in being a part of FBLA. Some of the seniors gave us their reasons why.
McKenzie Pecaut mentioned, “Once we leave high school we are going to have to use skills that we didn’t always use at school. Being involved in FBLA my past four years, I’ve learned a lot and I’ve already used some of those things during my college applications and college visits.”
Lauren Hoerstkamp commented, “FBLA gave me confidence in my voice. Without speaking skills that I have learned from this club, I would still be in my safe shell, never speak up in class, and just be super awkward around new people.”
Natalie Pecaut commented, “FBLA teaches you life skills to be successful in everyday life. Where I use those skills the most is at work. Customers and people will respect you more because most kids our age haven’t taken the time to learn those simple skills.”
Kelsey Anderson also commented on the question.
Mrs. Anderson replied, “Being part of FBLA students are learning and growing through the events and competitions that we partake in. I think a huge benefit of being a part of FBLA is learning soft skills that employers say they see applicants lacking right now. These skills include things such as communication, emotional intelligence, time management, and responsibility.”
Congratulations, Shamrocks, on a job well done!