Carson High FBLA sends 13 students to nationals

More than two dozen Carson High School Future Business Leaders of America students attended the state conference in Las Vegas recently and 13 of them qualified for the National Business Leadership Conference in Atlanta in June.

Additionally, Todd Gosselin and Eva Lindbloom were elected as statewide officers, which marks the first time in CHS history to have two individuals on the Nevada state officer team for FBLA.

550 FBLA students from across Nevada attended. The students competed in 45 business-related events including performance events, speaking events, case study events and projects such as Business Financial Plan, as well as knowledge tests. In the 18 performance categories events that CHS students participated in, CHS had a top 10 finisher in each of them. Any student placing in any of the top four spots qualified them for the National Business Leadership Conference.

CHS students Eva Lindbloom, McKenzie Merrell, Todd Gosselin, Alexa Robles and Hong Chau Nguyen were named to the National Business Honor Roll. McKenzie Merrell and Hanna Kreizenbeck placed in the top 10 in all five events in which they participated.

Gosselin, Robles, Merrell and Nguyen also received the Erin Hackman Travel Scholarship, which will decrease their cost to attend the National Competition by $100.

Josh Billings, vice principal and CTE administrator for Carson High, was named the Nevada FBLA Administrator of the year. Carson High FBLA organization advisers are marketing teacher Cody Downing and government teacher Angila Golik.

Following is a list of the CHS students who placed in state events.

• Hannah Kreizenbeck: Third in Introduction to Business Communication, fourth in Introduction to Business Procedures, fourth in Introduction to FBLA, second in Client Service and eighth in Sales Presentation (team event).
• McKenzie Merrell: Second in Introduction to FBLA, fourth in Introduction to Parliamentary Procedure, fourth in Introduction to Social Media Strategy, eighth in UX Design and fifth in Public Service Announcement.
• Sofia Kolupaeva: First in Publication Design, fourth in Supply Chain Management, seventh in Marketing and 10th in Organizational Leadership.
• Viviana Castro: Fourth in Impromptu Speaking, fifth in Public Speaking and eighth in Organizational Leadership.
• Eric Billings: Eighth in Supply Chain Management, 10th in Advertising and eighth in Graphic Design.
• Todd Gosselin: Fourth in Job Interview and seventh in Business Calculations.
• Alexa Robles: Sixth in Graphic Design and ninth in Website Design.
• Laura Bennett: Sixth in Public Speaking and eighth in Impromptu Speaking.
• Zach Nichols: Fourth in Social Media Strategies and seventh in Hospitality Management (team event).
• Hong Chau Nguyen: Third in International Business (team event), seventh in Data Analysis (team event) and eighth in Agribusiness.
• Giselle Barrera Martinez: First in Business Financial Plan (team event) and seventh in Data Analysis (team event).
• Jadyn Williams: Third in International Business (team event) and eighth in Sales Presentation (team event).
• Vanessa Bacerra Dominguez: First in Business Financial Plan (team event) and seventh in Social Media Strategies.
• Valeria Vega: First in Business Financial Plan (team event).
• Dahlia Keating: Eighth in Introduction to Social Media Strategy and seventh in Introduction to Business Presentation.
• Zack Lopez: Seventh in Job Interview.
• Sydney Romeo: 10th in Job Interview.
• Olivia VanReese Roering: Ninth in Health Care Administration and ninth in Introduction to Public Speaking.
• Toby Krehbiel: Ninth in Insurance and Risk Management.
• Erin Peterson: Fifth in Health Care Administration, fifth in Social Media Strategies and ninth in Public Service Announcement.
• Lindsey Kreizenbeck: Fifth in Introduction to FBLA and 10th in Journalism.

Future Business Leaders of America-Phi Beta Lambda, Inc. is the largest career student business organization in the world. Each year, FBLA-PBL helps more than 230,000 members prepare for careers in business. FBLA-PBL inspires and prepares students to become community-minded business leaders in a global society through relevant career preparation and leadership experiences. FBLA’s programs focus on:

• Leadership Development — members develop essential soft skills by holding chapter officer positions at the local, state and national levels; by networking with accomplished business professionals and by participating in business-focused workshops, seminars and academic competitions.
• Academic Competitions — members demonstrate their business expertise at high-profile regional, state, and national competitive events. The top students are recognized with trophies and cash awards.
• Educational Programs — members create career portfolios, enhance their knowledge with world-recognized skills certifications and have access to select college scholarships.

To send 13 students to nationals will cost approximately $15,000. If anyone would be interested in sponsoring students to help offset the cost of travel, e-mail Angila Golik at agolik@carson.k12.nv.us.