For many Bearden students who see themselves with a future in business, it is sometimes hard to know where to begin. Future Business Leaders of America helps ease that transition to an eventual career in business.

“Future Business Leaders of America is a club sponsored by business, marketing, and information technology teachers,” business teacher Ms. Ginger Hynds said. “Overall, FBLA has six specific areas focused on helping students become successful business leaders.”

FBLA meets once a month, sometimes more if a competition is on the way. Students have the privilege of hearing from professionals once a month in addition to their talented business teachers to further their knowledge on different aspects of business. 

“Our business teachers are awesome,” FBLA president Dalton Peters said. “But hearing from people who are currently doing business can provide a new and helpful perspective.”

Students can showcase what they have learned through competing with other FBLA programs. Competitions take place on the regional, state, and national level.

Students compete by answering business related questions to win the highest score while working together as a team. These competitions provide a chance for FBLA students to win awards and recognition, add to their resumé, and further their knowledge of the business world. 

“There are great opportunities for networking with other students and business professionals within the community,” Ms. Hynds said. 

Students will also have a chance to work in community service, specifically The March of Dimes – an organization working to provide the best care to both mother and child in the event of a premature birth – by participating in awareness campaigns and the March for Babies fundraiser.  

As a whole, FBLA students will learn to work together as a team as well as improve leadership skills and will learn about different industries to better narrow down decisions about what career they would like to pursue. 

Members develop essential leadership skills by holding chapter officer positions, by participating in business-focused workshops, seminars, and academic competitions, and by networking with business professionals. 

FBLA students meet in Room 315 at 8 a.m. on the first Wednesday of every month. Students who are interested in FBLA can talk to Ms. Hynds, Ms. Sherry Hamblin, Mrs. Jami Aylor, or Mr. Clint Cope in the business wing.