The sound of the bell rings through the speakers, cuing the students to quickly flood the hallways and head to their next class. Seems like a normal day at first but among the sea of students, there are some that are dressed a little different than others.
These students are dressed in formal business attire, representing The Future Business Leaders of America. In an effort to promote the club and increase membership, the students participated in the FBLA week.
Activities during the week consisted of a teacher breakfast and business attire on tuesday, FBLA spirit wear on wednesday, and handing out pencils to the student body on thursday.
“We did a teacher breakfast to thank the teachers at the high school for their continued support,” said Tricia Eibl, advisor for FBLA. “We do it every year to show our appreciation for their help.”
Unlike years past, the club decided to keep it simple and not do as much as community service during FBLA week. Because of past experience, they thought it would be best this way.
“In years past we have offered free babysitting services to the teachers at the high school on Valentine’s Day,” said Eibl. “But those things never went over real well, so we just kept it simple this year.”
Despite what the name suggest, FBLA focuses on more things than just business. While the competitions are based more on the business aspect, the work that’s done in the club focuses more on the leadership aspect.
To help the students gain a good work ethic and leadership skills, the members of FBLA give back to the community and to the school, whether it be working with PADAS to serve breakfast to the homeless, or manning the school store during lunch hours.
“When I tell people what FBLA stands for, they’re like ‘oh business? No thanks,'” said President of FBLA Jared Sorkin. “But it’s really more about giving back to the community and meeting new people.”
According to Eibl, one of the main purposes of the club is to help the students recognize and develop their confidence and leadership skills, as well as making a couple of new friends along the way.
“When I first came here, I was extremely socially-awkward,” said Sorkin. “But FBLA helped me get out of my bubble and that’s the reason why I’m so gregarious now.”