Jim Thorpe, PA — Students from Jim Thorpe won top prizes at Future Business Leaders of America, Inc.’s (FBLA) National Leadership Conference (NLC). The event, held in San Antonio, Texas, from June 29 to July 2, attracted more than 16,000 middle school and high school students, educators, and volunteers from across the country. The NLC provides education, competition, and networking opportunities centered on business. Students had the opportunity to engage in over 200 learning workshops and meet with representatives from more than 25 colleges, universities, and employers. Additionally, student members heard from Jared Ebersole, FBLA high school alumnus and co-founder of Lectec, who shared his journey from FBLA member to entrepreneur, and what it takes to build, fail, and lead.
Our students from Penn Kidder, L.B Morris Middle school, and Jim Thorpe Area High School attended many educational workshops throughout the four day span of this trip! We were able to go on educational tours of San Antonio throughout our downtime, attend the PA FBLA Rodeo, and even visit The Alamo! KaylaAnn Kandy, a now college freshman at Lehigh University placed first in the nation for top Alzheimer’s fundraising. Kayla raised over $6,200 for the Alzheimer’s Association. Noelanie Sepulveda placed top 15 in the Capstone Finalist presentations, where she competed for $5,000 to benefit her service project “Be The Help.” This project impacts chemotherapy patients through partnering with Lehigh Valley Health Network and St. Luke’s University Healthcare Network. Noelanie was able to present this impactful project to judges. Our middle schoolers also competed in their testing events. We are so proud to have these students involved at such a young age to learn what FBLA is about! Our middle school chapters and high school chapters received the Gold Seal Champion Chapter Award, as well! We at Jim Thorpe would like to thank our students, advisors, and sponsors, because without them, this trip would not have been possible. We can’t wait to see what next year brings in Columbus, Ohio!