Daniel Jauregui, 17, and Eveline Delgado, 16, practice their Future Business Leaders of America presentations before a group of students and faculty at Carson High School in Carson City, Nev., on Friday, May 8, 2015. The New Entrepreneur Program donated $4,000 to help get the FBLA team to the national competition, and is challenging the community to raise the remaining $4,000.
A local business organization has donated $4,000 — and is calling on the community to match it — to send Carson High School’s Future Business Leaders of America students to the national convention.
“Our New Entrepreneur Network is working with the schools to encourage students to start thinking about their futures,” said Miya MacKenzie, chief professional officer of the Hop and Mae Adams Foundation, which funds the New Entrepreneur Network. “Hearing about these students who are going to all this extracurricular effort to become business leaders is really exciting. We have some amazing kids doing amazing things.”
MacKenzie and Jeff Glass, executive director of the entrepreneur network, presented students and their adviser Angila Golik with the donation Friday. An additional $4,000 is needed by next Friday to send students to the National FBLA Convention in Chicago on June 28 through July 3.
“We are trying to create an entrepreneurial culture,” Glass said. “We’re building the community by investing in the students.”
Chapter president Daniel Jauregui, 17, has participated in FBLA all four years of high school.
“It teaches you so much about business and being able to prepare yourself for your future,” said Jauregui, who plans to major in business marketing with a minor in graphic design. “FBLA has helped me prepare myself for college and to go on to a career.”
He will compete in the business plan competition with his partner Eveline Delgado, 16.
“I’ve always wanted to own my own business,” Delgado said. “I thought this would help me in that direction.”
Carson High School sent 16 students to the state competition in Las Vegas. Of those, nine qualified for nationals.
Margaret Duvall, 17, vice president of the club, placed first in the Insurance and Risk Management competition and is eager to compete at the national level.
“It’s a great networking opportunity,” she said. “There’s a lot of scholarship opportunities if you place in the top. Plus, it will be a lot of fun.”
During the state competition, Golik was also named the state Adviser of the Year. She will be recognized on the national stage.
MacKenzie said the community could easily help the students attend the convention by working together.
“If everybody would donate $10 or $20, it can add up to $4,000 really quickly,” she said.