When opening sessions began, the air was alive with the hope that the three days spent in the convention center would be successful and productive. Hundreds of students from the state of Nebraska traveled to Kearney for State FBLA (Future Business Leaders of America) called SLC (State Leadership Conference). Wearing their finest business clothes, the student came prepared for three days of competition in all manner of business events ranging from tests to presentations. Eight Mercy girls and their advisor, Mr. Mayberger, drove three hours to arrive at the event center before the opening ceremonies began.
Many girls on the team, including myself, took tests in the weeks leading up to the state competition to qualify for performance events. In performance events, students are given a case study and have twenty minutes to write a speech solving the problem and explaining certain business concepts. I qualified in two events – Marketing and Hospitality & Event Planning. The other members of the team competed in events called objectives tests during SLC. Objective Tests are 100 question exams over specific business concepts. For example, Senior Grace Swoboda tested over UX Design, similar to digital design. The last event category in which Mercy competed was a pre-submitted video presentation called Digital Design. In this event, Delani Weidel, Sydney Malesker, and I digitally designed a storefront window for a local business and explained our idea in the presentation.
As the Mercy FBLA President, I reminded the team to manage their expectations for awards because none of us had ever attended SLC prior to this year. When it came time for the first award ceremony, the Digital Design team held their breath as the finalists’ names were being called in random order. When the Omaha Mercy team was called, all of the Mercy girls were on their feet cheering. Out of about thirty teams, we placed sixth in the state. Little did we know more awards awaited us the next day. After taking a team picture, we entered the large gathering space for the final awards ceremony. When it came time for the Hospitality & Event Planning finalists to be called, I made my way up to the stage feeling confident. As I saw my teammates crouched in the middle aisle with their cell phones, I felt so grateful that I had advocated for us to attend SLC this year. As I waited for my name to be called, I was shocked when I realized I had won the second place trophy! One of our team goals was to take home a trophy from SLC, and I was glad to have accomplished that.
While waiting for the Marketing event, I didn’t think that I would do very well in that event placement. I didn’t know what to expect when I began the Marketing competition, so I would be happy with a certificate. I plan to major in Marketing next year at Creighton University, however, I didn’t think I understood much about it. I was very wrong. When my name was called I walked up and stood in line to walk on stage for the third time. People around me were debating which place they thought they had received, and I stood quietly just hoping I wouldn’t trip in front of over three hundred people. After we walked on stage, they began to call the names of the teams who had received eighth place. Seventh place. Sixth place. Each time, I believed that my name would be called, and it wasn’t. Breathing became harder as there were fewer and fewer teams on the stage. Finally, there were only two left. As I exhaled, I couldn’t even believe that I had made it this far. As they called the second place name, I knew that I had just become the Marketing State Champion! My team hugged me as I walked back with my trophy, and as we walked out to the car, my hands were full with the trophies I had just won. In FBLA, if you place first, second, or third, you qualify to compete at the National Competition in Orlando. I qualified in two events. Although I will not be competing at Nationals, I am grateful for the opportunity.
The team made memories they will never forget at FBLA SLC. They shared many laughs and many Starbucks drinks as they waited for their competition time slot. Not only did we have a great time, but we learned valuable information from the keynote speaker, a man who has climbed the tallest mountain on every continent. We became better leaders and better friends throughout the duration of the conference. While many of the members of Mercy’s FBLA team are seniors, we have hope that we will inspire more people to join next year to grow the club.
