Southside High School hosts a plethora of clubs and organizations for students to join. One such group is FBLA: Future Business Leaders of America. Every year, they take part in competitions ranging from Regionals to Nationals. These competitions are diverse in nature- tests, presentations, interviews, and more! If participants place top five at regional competitions, they are then sent to Little Rock, Arkansas for the state conference.

   The 2023 FBLA state conference took place on Monday, April 3 and the state officers gave out awards the following day, Tuesday, April 4. Southside FBLA arrived at their hotel on Sunday, April 2, and began preparing for the conference. 

   The Arkansas FBLA State conference is hosted by the Marriott and the accompanying statehouse/convention center. Students are encouraged to attend lectures throughout the day when not presenting and make connections. It is not just a competition, it is an experience and opportunity to grow as a future business leader. 

   “It was my first time in Little Rock and it was pretty exciting,” Jeremy Hembra, a test taker, spoke about his experience. “The panels were very interesting and informative and I learned a lot about marketing.” Although Hembra did not compete directly, the opportunity arose for him to expand his knowledge as he waited for the awards ceremony.

   Another attendee, 3rd place data analysis winner Isabell Brown, had this to say about her experience, “I was really excited! It was my first year at FBLA so I was not expecting to qualify for nationals. Lucky enough though, I had an extremely capable partner who made it very fun.” Overall, the FBLA state conference serves as an enriching experience for everyone involved.

   Our 2023 award winners are as follows:

• Chantha Phrasavath – Accounting 2 – 1st place
• Serina Huang & Kathy Nguyen – Graphic Design – 1st place
• Mylesha Permana – Insurance and Risk Management – 2nd place
• Mackenzie Settlage & AvaLyn Sexton – Introduction to Event Planning – 2nd place
• Pluto Douglas and Isabell Brown – Data Analysis – 3rd place
• Kobe Gonzales – Accounting 1 – 4th place
• Elizabeth Do – Organizational Leadership – 4th place