Competition Winners announced at FBLA Regional Conference

How South’s FBLA is breaking records at Regional Competitions

Ishika Saluja

Medals in hand. Pictured is the president of FBLA, Abhay Chilakamarri, and the South Advisor for the club, Carla Yonk. They posed soon after Abhay received a first place award in his speaking event. Mrs.Yonk, an advisor at SFHS, speaks on the experience. She says: “Besides time management and networking, students can also attend workshops at the conference where they may learn new skills or have exposure to new ideas which might help them in the future. Some students also lead workshops which allows them a chance to build presentation skills among their peers.” Photo used with permission from Ishika Saluja.

Shreya Mishra, Senior Editor, Online Lead
January 23, 2019

Tuesday marked the day for the FBLA (Future Business Leadership of America) Regional Leadership Conference. Students filled the cafeteria as nervousness and anticipation bubbled between competitors. After a short social period, presenting competitors who were included in the region, met in specific rooms and waited for their turn to present their event.  What followed was a time allotted to having dinner and snacks, and ultimately an award ceremony was held to place students who qualified to participate in the state competition.

Presentations for a crowd. The above image displays one of South’s FBLA Teams presenting a slideshow for a competition event at RLC. This team actually won first in region, qualifying for the State Conference. Photo used with permission from Ishika Saluja.

The time spent at the RLC was widely seen as a positive experience to help students grow in FBLA. Mrs. Yonk, one of the advisors of this campus, describes how important club involvement is for students, and how the events like the Regional Conference can help students grow themselves at school.

“FBLA conferences help students be more independent because they are away from their parents and rely on each other to handle their event performances and schedules,” Mrs. Yonk claims, “They also get to meet people they otherwise would not have gotten to network with.”

The opportunity helps students develop character and values that can have a major impact and who they become in their workplace, and overall future.

Smile of a winner. This photo features sophomore Nikhil Upadhaya as he walks off the stage with a winning medal. Students lined up as their name was called, and received their awards from FBLA Officers. Used with permission from Ishika Saluja.

Freshman Tom Kunampuram placed 2nd

for the Intro to Business Presentation. He speaks on how gratifying the experience was, and how it helped him with numerous aspects in his life.

“If you’re not a good public speaker, and you do a public speaking event, it can really help you learn to prepare in real life,” Kunampuram claims, “Also, events like Job Interviews can give students real life skills and experiences they need.”

Tom also shares that RLC helped him enrich many necessary values and virtues, such as teamwork, organization, and punctuality. Students who qualified for SLC, will compete with other students all around Georgia, and meet as one unified organization from March 22nd to 24th . They will put their skills to the test, in the highly competitive events.