ORLANDO, FL — A Wallenpaupack Area High School (WAHS) team placed first in the nation at the recent Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) national leadership conference.

Darby Brennan and Hannah Stratton advanced to the final round in Social Media Strategies and finished first. They received individual plaques, a monetary reward and a banner for school, as well as an offer of an internship opportunity from one of their judges from the final round.

Nine students from the WAHS FBLA chapter qualified and flew to Orlando to attend and compete at the conference. The students were Alexis Blaszczyk (who qualified in Business Plan); Brennan and Stratton (the Social Media Strategies team); Kyle Carrubba and Ben Scholl (the Public Service Announcement team; Scholl is the number two Pennsylvania FBLA state officer vice president at large); Lexi Kapschull, Abby Kimler and Dan Salvati (the Graphic Design team); and Kaitlin Williams (Visual Design). 

The FBLA is the nation’s largest career and technical student organization that is focused solely on business. The event, held at the Orange County Convention Center from June 29 to July 2, attracted more than 15,000 middle school and high school students and educators from across the country. 

“By providing our members with the ability to compete against top students in the country, network with peers and potential employers and learn through professional development sessions, the [conference] is ensuring that today’s students become tomorrow’s leaders,” said Randy Fiser, national FBLA interim president/CEO.

While in Orlando, the WAHS FBLA members were able to compete at the highest level that FBLA has to offer. 

The members, along with advisers Melissa Monte and Jim Winagle, also visited Disney World’s Magic Kingdom, Universal Studios, Sea World and Top Golf Orlando.

This year marks the 10th consecutive year that WAHS FBLA was able to take qualifiers to the National Leadership Conference. During those years, WAHS FBLA has had competitors place in the top 10, but this is the first time they have had national champs. 

The school congratulated all competitors on a job well done.

Future Business Leaders of America is a 501(c)(3) education association with more than 200,000 middle school, high school and college members worldwide. FBLA’s mission is to inspire and prepare students to become community-minded business leaders in a global society through relevant career preparation and leadership experiences. 

For more information, visit www.fbla.org.