SHS Earns Top Honors at FBLA National Leadership Conference

More than 15,000 of America’s best and brightest high school students traveled to Texas to “Create. Lead. Inspire.” as they competed for the opportunity to win more than $179,000 in cash awards.

The Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) National Leadership Conference was held June 29–July 2 in San Antonio. Participants from across the United States and abroad attended this exciting conference to enhance their business skills, expand their networks, and participate in more than 70 business and business-related competitive events.

Clara Williams from Simsbury High School received national recognition at the FBLA Awards of Excellence Program on July 2 by placing 2nd in the Accounting I event. Clara received an $800 check from KPMG, the corporate event sponsor. Clara qualified for national competition by placing 1st in the event at the Connecticut State FBLA Leadership Conference in March.

“Clara was an exceptional student in my Accounting I course who earned high school and college credit through College Career Pathways program offered in the elective course. Clara’s performance on the national level is a great source of pride for the Business & Finance Department,” said Deborah Manning, FBLA advisor and SHS business teacher.

The award was part of a comprehensive national competitive events program sponsored by FBLA-PBL that recognizes and rewards excellence in a broad range of business and career-related areas. For many students, the competitive events are the capstone activity of their academic careers. In addition to competitions, students immersed themselves in interactive workshops, visited an information-packed exhibit hall, and heard from motivational speakers on a broad range of business topics.

At the conference, the Simsbury High School FBLA chapter was recognized for completing the Chapter Challenge and earning the Gold Seal Chapter award for excellence. Individual recognition was given to chapter president Michael Gundersen with the Who’s Who in FBLA award.

Simsbury students participating in San Antonio were Sarah Ackels, Jackson Ayers, Zach Calnan, Ashika Dyapa, Isabella Harrington, Jesse Harrington, Jiovanni Kissi, Ryan Penney, Harry van Dyke, and Clara Williams.

About FBLA-PBL, Inc.

Future Business Leaders of America-Phi Beta Lambda, Inc., the premier student business organization, is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) education association with a quarter million members and advisers in over 6,500 active middle school, high school, and college chapters worldwide. FBLA-PBL’s mission is to inspire and prepare students to become community-minded business leaders in a global society through relevant career preparation and leadership experiences. The association is headquartered in Reston, Virginia, just outside of Washington, D.C. For more information, visit fbla-pbl.org.