By: Victoria Do
Reporter at Cinco Ranch High School FBLA Club
From left to right: Nicholas Hartono, Isaiah Clark, Jerry Zhou, Tiffany Kim, Ella Ng, Heather Tan, Susmita Pasala, Rishabh
Chowdhury
A five-day trip full of competition, business, sightseeing, and most importantly, fun–all cemented into the memories of nine exemplary Cinco students. Each student had placed top 4 in their competition event at the Future Business Leaders of America State Conference, landing themselves a spot to compete at Nationals this summer. On June 26th, the group, led by their chapter sponsor Mr. John Bryan, took off for the National Leadership Conference in Atlanta, Georgia. At the conference, each of the students participated in competition again either at the prestigious Georgia World Congress Center or the connected Omni Hotel, this time clashing against top students from other states as well as out of the country like China and Puerto Rico. “I thought the experience was very fun and welcoming,” states Susmita Pasala, a sophomore, “it was nice to meet so many new people from different parts of the world.” Pin-trading was an especially anticipated event at the conference, where all students could intermingle and trade their unique designated state/country pins with each other. When asked about the experience, sophomore Ella Ng replied, “I really liked pin trading since it was an opportunity to be social and speak to other members of FBLA. I thought it was really funny seeing everyone negotiate and
compete just for these pins.”
Outside of competition, students also attended workshops with experienced speakers, subjects ranging from how to buy stocks to balancing your schedule. According to Ella Ng, the most valuable lesson she retained was “to realize what activities are making us stressed and the importance of letting go of things negatively associated with our life.” It’s clear that from these workshops and the wonderful experiences at NLC, students learned how to better themselves and strive for the best.
Congratulations to Rishabh Chowdhury For Placing 6th In Marketing!
Rishabh Chowdhury, awarded 6th place in the Marketing event
While all of the nine Cinco students worked their very hardest in their respective competition events, one outstanding student made his way to top 6th of his event, earning national recognition for his efforts. Rishabh Chowdhury, a junior, competed in the Marketing event, which consisted of both an objective test and a case study presentation. “When the Marketing competition results were displayed on the screen, I was shocked to see my name on the board,” Chowdhury states, “it felt completely surreal at that moment, and even now, weeks later, it still feels very weird.” When asked about his preparation for the competition, he explained that he created “a 56-page document of notes with nearly everything needed to get a high test score.” Chowdhury’s dedication to studying certainly paid off at Nationals, and he’s proven himself as a diligent scholar.
National Advisor Wall of Fame!
Mr. John Bryan, inducted into the National Advisor Wall of Fame
Congratulations to Cinco Ranch’s FBLA advisor, Mr. John Bryan, for being inducted into the National Advisor Wall of Fame! This recognition is awarded to advisors with 20 or more years of service to FBLA. “I thought it was quite an honor,” Mr. Bryan remarked, regarding his award, “It made me think about all the members over the last 21 years who have kept me excited about being their advisor.” Mr. Bryan has worked diligently for numerous years to bring the best FBLA experience to Cinco students, and the Cinco Ranch chapter could not have been so successful without his mentorship. Thank you Mr. Bryan, for all that you’ve done for the CRHS FBLA chapter!
After Competition Comes Adventure!
From left to right, top row: Jerry Zhou, Nicholas Hartono, Rishabh Chowdhury, Isaiah Clark, Ella Ng
From left to right, bottom row: Susmita Pasala, Tiffany Kim, Kate Bryan, Kayla Eshelman
While the first two days of the group’s trip were spent working hard on their respective events and competition, this left the last three days with arguably the best part–sightseeing. On their itinerary was the infamous museum, World Of Coca-Cola, as well as the Georgia Aquarium and Zoo Atlanta, each location having their own unique activities to indulge in. “Personally, I enjoyed the aquarium the most,” commented a junior named Nicholas Hartono. However, when asked for his favorite moment on the trip, he recounted a story of the coke museum where he and a few others “got trapped in a room with a different tour group for a solid 20-25 minutes” before regrouping with the rest. The World of Coca-Cola seemed to be the highlight of the tour for most of the group. According to Pasala, her favorite part was “going to the coke factory and getting to try all the different coke flavors from around the world. My favorite was the Kiwi Fanta and Melon Soda from Taiwan.” It seems that aside from a couple long days of competition, these students still found their own enjoyment in the sights that Atlanta has to offer.
