Gabrielino High School’s Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) program added to its history of success at the FBLA State Leadership Conference, advancing 15 members to the FBLA National Leadership Conference, to be held June 24-July 2 in San Antonio, Texas.
Six Gabrielino FBLA members won first-place honors, including FBLA President Casey Lee and Jiin Lee, who advanced in the E-Business category. The Lees, both juniors, will be attending the Nationals for the third consecutive year.
“I’m excited to go because I really love the energy of the national conference,” Casey Lee said. “I have learned through experience that if you want to impress the judges you have to go all out and make your product memorable.”
Creating a fictitious company called Focus Eyewear, the students won praise from FBLA judges for the business website’s ease of navigation, layout and color coordination.
“Casey and I work very well together,” Jiin Lee said. “I love going to Nationals because I have met a lot of new friends over the years and can’t wait to see them again.”
In the Public Service Announcement category, Gabrielino junior and FBLA Vice President Katherine Xie teamed with junior John Kurniawan and senior Jason Tang to win first place for their single-camera PSA that spoofed “The Office,” defining the soft skills a prospective employer is looking for when hiring.
“We experimented with visual effects and text, zooming in and shaking the camera,” Xie said. “We will revise the PSA ahead of the Nationals. I really love working with digital media and film.”
Gabrielino’s FBLA program has 108 members and emphasizes connecting with the local community through partnerships and volunteer work.