A partnership with local senior citizens has propelled a team of Oconto Falls High School students to the top of a national competition.
The OFHS Partnership in Business team of Elizabeth Coopman, Candis Dequaine and Jessica Belongia recently earned a spot in the Top 15 at the Future Business Leaders of America National Leadership Conference in Anaheim, Calif. The team’s entry involved planning and participating in activities at the local senior center and submitting reports about their experience to the judges.
“I think my favorite part was competing,” said Coopman, a sophomore. “It’s an adrenaline rush competing against people from across the country.”
Although team members know they are among the top in the nation, their exact placing will not be announced until August.
No matter how the team finishes, Coopman said the trip was terrific.
“It was an unforgettable experience,” she said.
Four other FBLA members also competed at the national competition from June 27 to July 3, after advancing through local, regional and state contests.
The Business Ethics group, consisting of freshmen Brittany Russell, Mikaela Thomson and Liza Leja, were given a variety of ethical dilemmas and then asked to come up with a solution in 20 minutes.
“Our team put in a lot of work,” Russell said. “We came in once a week before school for about 45 minutes. We started practicing in November with advisers.”
Jacob VerVelde, who graduated this spring with Belongia and Dequaine, competed in Cyber Security by completing tests that challenged him to create computer-protection solutions.
“There was a lot of studying that had to be done, and it was pretty competitive,” he said. “It was much tougher than I had expected. There were a lot of people there who were very high caliber, and they knew their stuff.”
These four team members will receive their results in August.
In addition to the competition, the students attended workshops and seminars and heard nationally recognized speakers. They also participated in a leadership training program called Youth Education Series, or YES.
“It was really neat,” Russell said. “The conference itself was awesome. I was amazed at how much energy filled the room.”
“The first three days of the trip we did a lot of practicing and preparing for the events,” said Oconto Falls’ FBLA adviser Tracy Tate. “Then after that, we did as much sightseeing and touring as we could.”
The group toured Los Angeles and Hollywood, explored the Disney parks and took surfing lessons at Newport Beach, a highlight for the students.
“They seemed to have a lot of fun,” Tate said.
Russell said she’s looking forward to continuing her involvement with FBLA in the fall.
“For me, I loved FBLA,” Russell said. “I plan to compete again.”
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