A five-day trip full of competition, business, sightseeing, and most importantly, fun -- all cemented into the memories of nine exemplary Cinco Ranch High students. Each student had placed top four 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, 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 at the connected Omni Hotel, this time clashing against top students from other states as well as 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 a 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.”

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.

Mr. John Bryan, inducted into the National Advisor Wall of Fame

Cinco Ranch’s FBLA advisor, John Bryan, was also 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,” 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.”