FBLA Looks to Nationals After Making School History at State Leadership Conference

Central’s FBLA (Future Business Leaders of America) Chapter travelled to the annual State Leadership Conference (SLC) in Springfield to attend workshops and compete in various events on April 1st and 2nd. The group was incredibly successful, earning top ten placements in 14 different events. 11 members of FBLA will be moving on to nationals in June, the highest number to do so in Central history.

But what is FBLA? The group first began informally with Central business teacher Eric Fagerlin in 2016, and grew rapidly once its popularity began to spread throughout the school. Though it initially appears to be a group restricted only to those interested in business, conferences actually contain a wide variety of subjects for students to prepare for and compete in. Fagerlin described, “it’s pretty complex…the five facets would be competition, service, fundraising, professional development, and social.” With around 80 different events for students to participate in, FBLA isn’t limited to only business related subjects at all. Fagerlin clarified, “even if you don’t want to go into business…there’s something for everybody…even if you just want to strengthen your interviewing skills, there’s a job interview event. There’s healthcare administration, there’s agro-business, there’s all kinds of technical events.” Central’s FBLA chapter attends roughly 5 conferences throughout the school year, where students have the option of competing in any event they’re interested in (though there are certain limits as to how many different events students can compete in at once). Competitions can either be test or presentation based, and some are even a combination of both.

Most recently, Central’s FBLA chapter attended the SLC in Peoria, where they had numerous outstanding performances. One of the group’s newest members, Freshman Eleanor Peak, stated that “the state leadership conference was so much fun! I really enjoyed being able to watch others compete at their events. It was a really good insight into what to expect for the future.” Peak will be one of many FBLA members proceeding on to nationals, as she placed first in her event (Introduction to Parliamentary Procedure). Major highlights of the event were Junior Advait Rajmane being elected as State Reporter, and the 14 top ten placements earned by Central chapter members.

Current State Vice President and Central FBLA Senior Lalit Gurrapu also had an incredibly positive experience at SLC, though he admitted it was very busy. “The state leadership conference was amazing. Being a state officer, there’s a different experience to it as well, more of an administrative side to it because I’m out here doing rehearsals, making sure everything’s going right, making sure my competitive event is also going right with my partner. So there’s a duality to it; there’s both sides of being a competitor but also being an officer with it.” Gurrapu is no stranger to working tirelessly for FBLA, as he along with Central chapter president Jocelyn Patterson and vice president Shreya Sachdev organized the area conference held at Central earlier in the year.

Patterson, who has served as a Central FBLA officer for the past three years, is an excellent example of the diversity of interests drawn into FBLA. She stated, “I do not plan on going into business…even with that, I feel like I can take a lot from what I’ve learned, like leadership and teamwork, and just kind of adapt that into what I need.” Though she was initially attracted to FBLA her Freshman year after seeing that participants got to travel around the state and dress in fancy formal outfits, Patterson found a great deal of value in the group that she didn’t necessarily anticipate at first. “It’s a great environment to enhance your leadership skills, as well as other skills that you’re gonna need in the professional world.”

Though developing various professional skill sets is certainly an important focus of FBLA, bonding with fellow chapter members appears to be an essential factor as well. Gurrapu, despite his high achievements including qualifying for nationals and being elected state vice president, said, “I love the people more than anything…the bonds and the connections you make is the best part of FBLA, and I’ll never forget that.” Central Chapter secretary Ellie Kim spoke on her experience as a new member of FBLA last year, and how the group was still able to form core connections online. According to Kim, last year’s summer leadership conference “was on Zoom, but like…we bonded over Zoom.” Kim additionally commented that “the bus rides [to different conferences] are so fun.”

It’s clear that Fagerlin has become incredibly impressed with this group of students and the relationships that they’ve formed with one another. “They’re so passionate,” he described, before adding that “this group of officers is incredible.” FBLA shows a promising future with an abundance of underclassmen, including those like Kim and Peak who plan to run for office positions on the executive board next year. Gurrapu, whose large presence in FBLA will certainly be missed next year, commented that the group has “a bunch of individuals who are ready to take our spots, and we know they’re going to do an amazing job.”

But before starting a new year in the fall, Central’s FBLA chapter has one more big conference to attend. “I feel both excited and nervous about getting the chance to go to nationals,” said Peak. Senior Patterson shared this excitement, but also with a great deal of sentiment. “My first ever conference with FBLA was the national fall leadership conference Freshman year…since my first one was in Chicago and this is my last one, it’s kind of gonna be a sweet little end to my FBLA career,” she said.

After nationals, FBLA is looking forward to another year filled with successful conferences and workshops as a group. They encourage any and all of their classmates to participate, as Gurrapu stated: “for those of you who don’t want to join FBLA just because you think you’d get scared from the title - it’s not only business. FBLA is a community, a family, where you can develop all sorts of skills, make new friends, have the ability to travel, and become a better person. You’ll see yourself grow.”

The Chronicle wishes good luck to FBLA as they proceed on to nationals!