MSMS FBLA qualifies for state competition

Courtesy of Kayla Hester

Students from Mississippi School for Math and Science pose with awards from February’s Future Business Leaders of America regional competition at Northeast Community College in Booneville, MS. FBLA is a national organization that gives students the opportunity to explore their interests in business, marketing, finance, ect. The MSMS FBLA student organization is sponsored by Kayla Hester.

Sophie J. Hines, Staff Writer
March 26, 2022

MSMS’s Future Business Leaders of America club traveled to North Mississippi Community College in Booneville for the 2022 FBLA Northern District Leadership Conference on Feb. 3. Every MSMS student who competed placed between first and fifth place in their respective categories, and therefore qualified for the state conference in Natchez, Miss. on Apr. 6.

The district competition consisted of subject tests and an awards ceremony. The tests consisted of 100 questions pertaining to the facts of the subject area.

“There were a lot of definitions. ‘What does this acronym stand for? What does this rule mean? Which is the correct option regarding what a health care administrator would do?’ for my test at least,” said senior Raeed Kabir, who placed first in the health care administration category.

Club sponsor Dr. Kayla Hester said the students were very independent in their preparation for the competition.

“My role was mainly just to organize us getting there, registering — everything. The students really did a lot to prepare, individually and as a group, for the event,” she said. “They had a meeting about a week or so before the competition to talk about how to find practice tests and study resources, then they did a lot of the preparation themselves.”

The state competition is a bit different. It is an overnight event and will consist of both similar tests and also more interactive events.

“It’s a little bit more involved because at district they all just took tests. For some, at state, they’ll do the test along with some sort of performance aspect, so that could be a speech. It could be a roleplay where they get a scenario and they have to respond. It could be a presentation,” Hester said.

Last year, the state conference was virtual with no district qualifier, and the club appreciated getting back into the swing of things.

“It was very different. The test was almost exactly the same, the difference was that I was in a room by myself at my old school sitting on a Chromebook. Here, I went somewhere to take the test. Last year I received the award through the mail, but this year we actually got presented with them,” MSMS junior Nathan George said.

It was their first time competing in person, and they placed first in the economics category.

Hester said, “I think that [students] were glad to be back in person this year.”