Thousands of high school students from throughout the state tested their knowledge on topics like accounting, business law and economics with hopes of being accepted into the Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) national competition for high school students this summer.
More than 4,100 students representing 131 New Jersey chapters competed in one of four tournaments, divided by region, said Ellen A. Benowitz, FBLA chairwoman for the state. A group of 16 Northern Valley Regional High School student members of FBLA participated in the event at Mercer County Community College.
The first place winner from each competition received a plaque and will move on to the state leadership conference in March along with seven other students from each region, Benowitz said. The first place winner and the runner up at the state competition will be entered into the national competition this June in Atlanta, Ga., she said.
Winners of these events receive scholarships, stipends or cash rewards, according to Greg L. Oliver, director of membership at FBLA.
Students are tested on a wide range of topics, mostly in the areas of business concepts, math and computer programming, Benowitz said.
"The topics are pretty general, like business law or C++ programming," said Michael Yaroshefsky, FBLA national president and a senior at Wayne Valley High School. "Sometimes you want to have taken a class in that beforehand. You can't really just go up and do C++ computer programming if you've never had experience in it before."
Local academic advisers help determine the events in which a student competes based in which subjects he or she excelled academically in high school, Benowitz said. Students prepare for the competitions using study guides with sample questions and are aided by the advisers and high school teachers, she said.
"Any kind of textbook on the material is a good way to study," said Michael Yaroshefsky, FBLA national president. "And there are a lot of online resources. That's how I studied."
The first FBLA chapter in the state was chartered in 1947 at a high school in Pennington. Montclair State College hosted in 1961 the first N.J. statewide convention featuring competitive events.
"This year has been especially exciting for New Jersey," Benowitz wrote in an e-mail. "This is the first time in the history of New Jersey that the national president was a New Jersey student. Since there are almost 250,000 FBLA members throughout the nation, this is certainly a major accomplishment."
Yaroshefsky, a senior at Wayne Valley High School, said his membership with the FBLA has helped him develop leadership skills, better understand the business world and get his foot in the door for future job opportunities.
"There is just so many great things you learn [as a member of FBLA], particularly with running meetings," Yaroshefsky said. "A friend of mine, who was a New Jersey president three or four years ago, when she went to look for a job, she knew how to prepare agendas, take minutes and do recording."
FBLA is a 65-year-old nonprofit association with 231,000 high school student members in 48 states and additional members in middle, collegiate and professional levels of the organization, Oliver said.
Noteworthy FBLA alumni include Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Troy Aikman, American Idol winner Kelly Clarkson and Apprentice TV star Kwame Jackson, Oliver said.
