Homestead High students are the champion Future Business Leaders
Group takes No. 1 ranking at National Leadership Conference
Homestead High School has once again turned out large numbers of Future Business Leaders of America. Its FBLA chapter recently followed its 22nd consecutive state championship with the No. 1 ranking at this year’s National Leadership Conference.
Of the 85 Homestead students competing, six won national championships: Alan Jian, Benjamin Sun and Yanai Tagor for their business financial plan, and Diya Bengani, Grace Mcgoran and Rujuta Swadi for publication design. Another 59 placed in the top 10 of their respective competitions.
The Homestead students were among more than 9,000 high school students from across the country competing in more than 70 business and technology-oriented events where they demonstrated their talents in speaking, case study and written testing.
The Homestead FBLA beat out their cross-town rivals at Monta Vista High School, who came in second in the national competition, which was conducted online due to the pandemic.
“We had to present virtually, which was drastically different from previous years,” Nadya Svidzerskaya, who competed in Entrepreneurship, said in a statement. “It took a lot of innovation because we couldn’t solely look at the past for guidance. But in the end, my team was able to adjust and succeed.”
Byron Lee, Homestead FBLA adviser for the past 27 years, agreed with his student’s assessment. “Our FBLA officer team was remarkable in planning and executing an engaging and positive year that personalized the FBLA experience remotely, far exceeding my expectations during this challenging year,” Lee said.
Besides preparing for competition, members of the Homestead
FBLA participated in projects with community partners.
Project Illuminate focused on education about responsible consumerism and ethical business practices through events such as a business night, when
FBLA members presented business concepts to local elementary school students. The project also launched a Buy Local Campaign in partnership with the Sunnyvale Chamber of Commerce as well as five small businesses.
Business owner Katherine Ma said she was grateful for the support. “Spreading the importance of community engagement made us feel very connected with our customers,” Ma added.
Project Provide took efforts to reduce food insecurity in the community, assembling more than 700 hygiene kits for distribution to clients at the Loaves and Fishes kitchen.
“What a difference it makes when we can support the needs of our hungry and homeless guests,” Loaves and Fishes CEO Gisela Bushey said of the effort.
For Project Capture, students partnered with Screencast-o-matic, a video software company to create a database of charitable grants and get tips in graphic design, public speaking and business analytics.
“Being a Project Capture chair allowed me to interact with a real-world business and make a tangible impact on it,” said cochair Preethi Rayaprolu.
Contact Anne Gelhaus at 408200-1051.