Sixteen students advance to national competition

There was a palpable excitement emanating from students Sarah Glidden and Dana Pogar even a week after the conclusion of the 2018 Colorado Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) Phi Beta Lambda (PBL) conference — and for good reason.

All sixteen CMU FBLA-PBL students who competed at the state competition will advance to nationals. The business students brought home 32 top awards after competing for two days.

The Colorado Mesa FBLA-PBL chapter is a business department student organization. The state competition tested students on knowledge and skills they have been learning in the classroom and through PBL activities. The competition varied between multiple choice computer tests and live presentations in front of judges. There were individual and team competitions. For some of the presentations, students had to prepare materials in advance while other parts of the competition were on the spot.

“I think this competition is really important because it teaches you how to be good on your feet,” said Pogar, a sophomore business administration and marketing student. “When you go into a competition that you are given a situation on the spot, you have to have good problem solving skills, communication and you have to be creative. And these are the types of skills we’ll apply in the business world and life in general.”

The chapter brought home 17 first-place, 10 second-place and five third-place awards. Sixteen out of the thirty-two total Colorado Mesa FBLA-PBL members competed at state. Glidden and Pogar would like to see the number of students participating in this campus organization increase in the coming years.

“You get out of college what you put into it,” said Glidden, the vice president of marketing for the Colorado Mesa PBL chapter. Pogar highlighted that PBL provides networking opportunities, access to internships and more.

Three CMU PBL members were also elected as Colorado PBL state officers at the competition in April for the 2018-2019 year: Currey Ventling, vice president; Faith Wood, secretary; and Josiah Bohrer, treasurer.

Currently, the main focus for PBL students, including graduating senior Glidden, is fundraising for nationals where they will compete against thousands of students in Baltimore, Maryland this summer.

“PBL has given me a lot of confidence in general,” Glidden said. Hearing from speakers at state helped her to realize that a lot of people don’t end up where they thought they would, but with hard work and adapting to what life gives you will help you succeed in your career and life.

CMU PBL students who qualified for nationals are: Robert Anderson, Anna Bell, Josiah Bohrer, Jarrott Brown, Avery Cantrell, Nikki Clark, Sarah Glidden, Trevor Gunnels, Dana Pogar, Kacie Sams, Dillon Sandrock, Steven Schopen, Alli Stubits, Heather Swain, Currey Ventling, and Faith Wood.