Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) members competed at the State Leadership Conference (SLC) at the Sacramento Convention Center from Thursday, April 27 to Saturday, April 29. 

Forty students competed in various events such as Accounting, Business Law, Economics and Cyber Security. In addition, team presentation events included Sports and Entertainment Management and International Business. 

“I competed in Intro to Financial Math and placed eighth. While I believe that I did okay in testing, I enjoyed attending SLC and will now know what to expect for the coming years of state competition and the competitive feel of FBLA,” freshman Gavin Chang said. 

SLC also offered different workshops to students, which had speakers talk and share insights on career development and navigating the job market in the business world. One workshop was Entrepreneurship, where students learned effective marketing and sales strategies. 

“While I did not place for [Accounting I], I feel happy for those who placed during SLC as it shows how much dedication they put into studying for such competitive events that allowed them to surpass those across the state,” sophomore Audrey Lin said.  

In the days before the objective tests, students would have occasional study sessions using FBLA practice sets and Quizlet study sets. 

“I participated in Accounting I and II, achieving third in Accounting II and placing for the first time in SLC. I feel that the individuals who placed during SLC this year worked exceptionally hard as more schools competed and raised the bar for competition,” public relations officer senior Winston Chang said.

Students who placed top 4 at SLC can move on to National Leader Conference (NLC). Students who placed well at the Inland State Leadership Conference (ISLC) in March qualified to compete at SLC. 

“I feel like Walnut’s FBLA is a strong club that encourages all of its members to try their best, showing through each student’s contribution to the overall placing of Walnut High School,” Lin said.