Last Thursday, students involved in the Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) club traveled to Durant High School to compete in events showcasing their prowess in commerce and presentation skills.

“I think I’ve learned how to communicate with different types of people,” said Hayle Short (’19), who is currently in her second year with the club. “[At the state and national competitions] you meet so many people from all over, people from places like China, Haiti, and Canada, and you learn how to communicate in a business environment.”

Thanks to competitions like the one at Durant, Mekhi Cusseaux (’19) feels FBLA has made him more prepared to take on his future.

“I want to own a restaurant empire,” Cusseaux said. “Having early experience with business skills and ethics will allow me to excel once I get out of high school.”

Today, many of the same students received recognition at an awards ceremony at The Regent in Riverview, FL.

See below for a full list of the winners.

Awards Received:

• CJ Baab 2nd Accounting I
• David Rogers 2nd Advertising
• Hayle Short 1st Business Ethics
• Chaitra Pedireddy 1st Computer Applications
• An Dinh 4th Computer Problem Solving
• Shirkavin Ramkumar 1st Computer Problem Solving
• Scott Richardson, Nicholas Fata, Austin Gill 1st E-Business
• Sean Piontek and Ria Kale 1st Emerging Business Idea
• Kyle Johnson 1st Future Business Leader
• Ashley Sizemore and Gabriela O’Brion 2nd Graphic Design
• Jennifer Laux, Diejonia Abbott, and Larissa Krinos 1st Graphic Design
• Marissa Garcia 3rd Healthcare Administration
• Maria Torres and Clarisse Chatfield 1st Hospitality Management
• Jacob Orlick 1st Impromptu
• Miguel Santiago 3rd Intro to IT
• Jeremy Watkins 5th Intro to IT
• Lauren Brown 1st Job Interview
• Alessio Casamento, Dong Woo Kim, Julia Phan 2nd Marketing
• Abigail Patterson 2nd Publication Design
• Mekhi Cusseaux-Williams and Alleah Nobeza 1st Social Media Campaign
• Stephanie Fata, Lindsay Kaplan, and Rebecca Lawrence 1st Sports and Entertainment Management
• Lauren Brown, Samuel Rodriguez, Hayle Short, and Nicholas Fata 1st Battle of the Chapters
• Hayle Short FBLA District 9 Secretary