6On Monday, March 9, the Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) club traveled to Longwood University in Farmville, Virginia, to compete in the regional competition. 31 high schools from various places in our region came and competed at this tournament, making for an overall competitive, but fun competition.
The FBLA officers got to choose from a various list of events that they could compete in. Some of the events required officers to take a test prior to the competition which can help determine who advances onto the next competitions.
Junior president Eli Watkins, along with senior vice president Malcolm Forbes, competed together in the Entrepreneurship category and placed second overall. According to the FBLA website, competitors in this category are assigned an entrepreneurship-related prompt and will then give a presentation to the judges. Reviewing the day, both Watkins and Forbes were glad they got to experience what a FBLA competition looks like and are looking forward to the next one.
“I was glad to see what other FBLA groups looked like and what they decided to compete in and the way they carried themselves. I’m also looking forward to competing in different and new events and trying to place first,” Watkins said.
Junior historian Cate Wilson competed in the category Job Interview, and placed first overall. The FBLA website states that competitors needed to make a resume, a cover letter, and had to participate in a live interview. This sends her straight to the state competition on April 10 which will be held in Reston, Virginia. Wilson enjoyed seeing how the hard work she put into the competition paid off in the end.
“I really enjoyed preparing a resume and practicing questions for my competition. It was quite a bit of work, but it was well worth it in the end!” Wilson said.
Also competing for FBLA was sophomore treasurer Evan Wilson, who placed third in the category Computer Applications. The FBLA website says that competitors in this category are tasked with applying their skills in spreadsheets and presentation tools which represent what real-life business tasks could look and feel like.
Evan Wilson is new to RCHS as he moved from North Carolina this year. He hopes that in future competitions, he’ll get to see people he knows.
“I hope that I get to see my friends from North Carolina at the national competition,” Wilson said.
This first competition was most definitely a success, as RCHS saw multiple competitors place in the top three. We give the best of luck to those who will be competing in future competitions such as the state competition and the national competition.
