Dublin High School Wins Big at 2014 Future Business Leaders of America State Leadership Conference

FBLA Awards Ceremony (photo credit: Atul Trivedi)

In a remarkable display of teamwork and determination, Dublin High School students won several state-level awards at the Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) State Leadership Conference (SLC).

The conference took place on April 10 through 13 in Ontario, California—about a six hour drive away from the City of Dublin. Students from all across the state competed in business related competitions, ranging from Computer Applications to Business Law to Network Design.

Winners included: Lilian Zhang, placing 2nd in Business Math, Tim Elkana, placing 3rd in Client Service, Justin Lu, placing 6th in Economics, and Lilian Chen, Jessica Ngo, and Justin Lu once more placing 3rd in Banking and Financial Systems. Lilian Chen along with her teammates and the other top five qualifiers will be going to Nashville, Tennessee this summer to compete once more in their respective competitions at Nationals.

“Banking and Financial Systems was way beyond my expertise,” says FBLA Bay Section vice-president and Dublin High School senior Lilian Chen. “After the test, the challenge was to talk about retirement plans, health insurance, home mortgages, and Social Security.”

Many participants however, understand that the FBLA conferences mean so much more than winning. FBLA members were able to connect with all sorts of different people from across California, as well as people in their own chapter.

“Because every member of FBLA is incredibly unique, before the club, we wouldn’t run across one another,” says senior May Liu. “It’s wonderful to be able to grow close to classmates so different from me.”

The majority of the chapter typically comes back with a network of new friends and relationships. The experiences gained from SLC are, in their opinion, extraordinary.

“No matter what happens with the competitive events, it’s great to just spend some time away from typical everyday life,” says junior Cinyi Mao.

In addition to making new friends, FBLA members were also able to learn from workshops and even a keynote guest speaker—illusionist and comedian Chris Blackmore, who also entertains guests at Disneyland with his skills as a professional magician, speaker, and comedian. A variety of workshops were held. Members could learn skills in marketing and persuasion, college admission tips, and renewable energy and energy efficiency ideas.

The diversity in the workshop, competitions, and people showed the members that there is a place in FBLA for everyone. SLC gave the chance for people of all sorts of different interests to be intellectually and socially engaged. Overall, it was a memorable experience for many.

“Join FBLA. Even if you aren’t interested in business, you’ll like it,” says Mao. “I’m 99.99% sure!”

Grace Li is a Dublin High School Class of 2015 junior.