With their eyes fixed on the illuminated stage, high school and middle school students waited in anticipation to hear the results of the Future Business Leaders of America California (FBLA) State Leadership Conference, which took place in Ontario, Calif., from April 12-15.
Announcers called the top 10 competitors in each event to the stage in a random order. They then revealed who received which awards, beginning in 10th place.
Among the recognized students were six out of the 10 SHS students who competed. Sophomore Harsha Ramachandran placed fifth in Banking and Financial Systems and sophomore George Bian and junior Merrick Wang placed fifth in Business Plan. Bian placed fourth in Economics as well. Junior Victor Liu placed fourth and junior Phoebe Wang placed third in journalism, while junior Caroline Wang placed first in Health Care Administration.
By placing as one of the top four competitors of their respective events, Bian, Liu, Phoebe and Caroline have advanced to the National Leadership Conference, which will be held in Baltimore, Md., from June 28-July 1. They will be traveling with Cupertino High’s FBLA.
Caroline recalled her reaction when she was awarded first place.
“I was surprised because I felt like I didn’t study much so I wasn’t really expecting it,” Caroline said. “I don’t have many expectations for nationals — I’m just glad I get to go. If I do place that’s a bonus, but I’m not expecting anything.”
Bian also found the news that he advanced to nationals surprising. Although he did not originally qualify for the state competition for the Economics event, since Bian did not reach 10th place and the top four would advance, he was able to participate at states as a wild card instead. A wild card is the chance to advance to states despite not officially qualifying. As a result of this opportunity, Bian finished fourth at the state level.
“The next thing I know, I'm off to nationals, so I believe anything is possible,” Bian said. “I am going to go in believing in myself and the studying that I have done, and I will have confidence in myself and my abilities.”
To prepare for competitions, Bian and Caroline study from textbooks, though Wang said she mostly reviews notes she took sophomore year because of the sheer amount of information the Health Care Administration textbook contains. After taking each test, Wang also writes down what she did not know because the tests often repeat questions.
Wang has participated in FBLA since her freshman year. Because she is interested in pursuing health care, she chose Health Care Administration for her event.
“In the beginning I just joined FBLA because my friends were there, but I’ve learned more about business, specific procedures relating to health care and how to file things, which could probably help me if I do decide to go into health care,” Wang said.
Bian said he joined FBLA because he has known he wants to go into business since a young age.
“Funny thing is this motivation actually stems from Pokémon card trading back in elementary school,” Bian said. “Ever since then, I've always loved doing business and negotiations with others. FBLA has provided me the opportunity to realize that there are many more wonderful things in business than just trading Pokémon cards and I am truly grateful for all that the club has brought me.”