Mainstreet Daily News
During Alachua County Public Schools spring break, more than 50 students from the Buchholz High School Academy of Finance/Future Business Leaders of America Chapter competed virtually against some of Florida’s best and brightest high school students to Reimagine Tomorrow. The students showcased their talents as future business leaders and vied for the opportunity to compete at nationals this summer.
Florida Future Business Leaders of America-Phi Beta Lambda (FBLA-PBL) held its FBLA State Leadership Conference virtually on March 25th to March 27th. Attendees from across the state of Florida, including 55 members from the Buchholz Academy of Finance took part in the conference to enhance their business skills, expand their networks, and participate in more than 50 business and business-related competitive events.
Fourteen students from Buchholz High School’s Academy of Finance received recognition at the FBLA Awards of Excellence program. First place winners were Devika Kumar for Accounting I and Isabelle Tseng for Introduction to Business.
Second place winners included the team of Amy Xing, Sean Han and Xiya Zhou for Banking and Financial Services, Siddharth Bianchi for Economics, and Michael Fahn for Political Science.
Third place finishers included Keen Zhang for Accounting I. Lucas Dai finished 4th place for Agribusiness, and Zach Corda for Introduction to Business Procedures.
Fifth place finishers were Albert Yang in Agribusiness, Timmy Li for Business Calculations, Amarissa Beardsley for Public Service Announcement and Kevin Zheng for Securities and Investments.
“It is great to have students compete at the state level of FBLA even during their spring break and to have 14 students place is so exciting,” said Michele Brothers, director of the Academy of Finance and FBLA advisor. “All three advisors, myself, Mr. Bell and Mrs. Berben are very proud of their accomplishments and commitment.”
In addition to the competitions, a small group of students came to Buchholz to participate together in the opening session, a general session with keynote speaker Johnny “Joey” Jones and the Awards of Excellence program. Principal Kevin Purvis joined the group for the Awards of Excellence program on Saturday evening and watched as Buchholz student Zachery Galloway was inducted as the Region II Vice President for Florida FBLA.