FBLA prepares students for business world
Sports reporter
If The Princeton Review says it, it's probably true.
According to the highly respected educational prep company, business administration and management is the most popular major in the United States.
So, it's probably a good thing third-year Marion High School business teacher Jennifer Owen proposed the idea of having a business organization at the high school when she began teaching in 2005.
She thought the school could either have the Business Professionals of America (BPA), or the Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA), as part of its supplemental activities program.
MHS eventually went with FBLA, which has around 250,000 members, with 215,000 of them at the high school level.
The other members are at the collegiate and business professional levels.
The MHS chapter has 24 members who share some of their spread-thin time learning more about the business world.
Owen said at times it can be challenging trying to get everyone together at the same time.
"I try to entice them with food at the meetings," she joked. "If they can't make it I usually see them in the hall and give them the information."
The group meets once a month in Owen's room and discusses business tactics, etiquette, and interviewing skills, among other things.
For the first time this year they are competing in LifeSmarts competitions, which are similar to Scholars' Bowl competitions, and Owen plans for them to have a business etiquette dinner sometime this spring.
Other activities have included talking to elementary students about Internet safety and possibly having business professionals come talk to the FBLA members.
Balancing act
Cassy Legg, a MHS senior and FBLA president, has been a member all three years.
She got involved because she wanted to try something new that had not been offered at the school.
"I thought it was something interesting to try," she said.
Although she plans on majoring in psychology in college, she is glad to be a part of the FBLA.
"We have the opportunity to go places and listen to people speak," Legg said. "It definitely helps with communication skills."
The LifeSmarts competitions do as well, and the MHS students showed they are up there with the best.
After taking second at regionals, they advanced to the state finals in Topeka as one of 12 competing schools.
Only the top team advanced to regionals, and the Warriors made a run for it, finishing fourth.
Legg, along with Luke Gordon, Tylor Neil, and Adam Svoboda, competed in the event.
Legg said she was surprised MHS finished as high as it did.
She said after talking to some of the competitors, she found they had whole classes at school devoted to LifeSmarts.
"We went in winging it, with a few practices, and it went well," Legg said.
Svoboda, a junior, enjoyed the technology questions because he likes working with computers.
"The technology questions were fairly simple to me," he said. "But the personal finance ones were a little tough."
The different aspects of the contest, and the group overall, keep the students on their toes, and give them business tips they may not otherwise have known.
Overall, FBLA is going well and Owen hopes it only gets better.
"It's evolving," she said. "We are going to continue doing LifeSmarts."
The 24 members are the most the group has had since it started, and everyone is hoping each year there will be more interested students.
Even though Legg will be gone next year, she hopes to see the numbers increase, but knows it's hard when members are involved in other activities.
"It's kind of hard to compete with that," she said of other groups meeting at the same time. "But we have room to grow, and I think we can."
Other FBLA members include: Zach Helmstead, Kayla Williams, Valeree Hett, Hannah Rogers, Kayla Nickelson, Nicole Herzet, Kaylyn Spencer, Melissa Penwell, Shayla Rahe, Audra Allen, Tacy Taylor, Mara Prescott, Mark Kukuk, Charlie Holub, Cody Tuck, Levi Carpenter, Adam Regnier, Kalaya Jackson, James Wingfield, and Matt Sprowls.
