Being just one week away, the anticipation and excitement grows August 27th 2023 quickly approaches. On August 27th, members of Yorba Linda High’s FBLA will be traveling to Sacramento for the State Finals of FBLA. 

With feelings ranging from excitement and confidence, Jerry Sun recalls, “I feel very excited to be traveling and getting two days off of school…every single day we prepare.” He is currently participating in the category regarding entrepreneurship with his teammate Aiden Guan. “Our goal is first place this time…last time we were 2nd place at sectionals” states Aiden Guan (9). To feelings of reminiscence and bittersweetness many students are starting to feel the competition effects drawing near. Camille Khong (12), president of YLHS’s FBLA, states “I am excited a little emotional because this is my last year in FBLA. The state competition has always been a really fun experience because it allows students to go a little outside their comfort zone, traveling to a new city to compete in this event. For a lot of freshman, it is their first time traveling with your school and with your classmates so it is a really fun experience and I remember all the times passed when I went to SLC and competed in all of these different events.” 

So what is FBLA? Organized in 1937 by Professor Hamden L. Forkner, FBLA was developed at the Teachers College, Columbia University in New York City. In concept of a national organization that would unite the thousands of business clubs in the nation’s high schools and colleges through helping students prepare for careers in business, academic competitions, and educational opportunities.

Led by the wonderful students of Yorba Linda High School, the YLHS FBLA has recently been meeting every Tuesday and Thursday to review and practice the topics for competition. Topics can include journalism, personal finance, business communications, economics, and organizational leadership, additional to many other events. 

There are three competitions throughout the year. These competitions can also be referred to as levels. The first level is Sectionals, which is only a district wide competition. This is typically held at a high school or local forum. The 2023 sectionals were held at Valencia High, although the locations rotate.  The second level is recognized as State, where competitors across the state compete at one competition as mentioned in FBLA.org. Currently the YLHS FBLA team will be competing at state on August 27th to the 30th. This year the event will be held in Sacramento, California. This level is more intense, including case studies in addition to objective tests. The state level is typically a few days long, compared to sectional level competitions which are only one day long. Lastly, the highest level is Nationals. For nationals students from all over the country join together to compete. During Yorba linda High School’s previous year, the FBLA competed at Chicago, Illinois. This year they will be competing in Atlanta, Georgia.  

FBLA can be composed of three divisions. The earliest division is the middle school division. In this division students grades seven and eight are introduced to real world business scenarios and business principles as stated by FBLA.org. The following division is the high school division, which helps students prepare for careers in the business industry by preparing them with academic competitions and educational programs. To follow, the third division is the collegiate division. This division is specifically for college students, which is dedicated to develop the next generation of leaders for careers in business and business-related fields.

Camille Khong, president of YLHS’s FBLA expresses how she is excited for her last competition before college, and proud of the YLHS FBLA team. “I am to compete in my last year and see how the underclassmen do as well…I feel satisfied with our chapter because I see all the students putting in their best effort and coming to the study sessions and allowing themselves to be prepared for this competition. So I am really happy that, as a chapter, we are taking this competition seriously and we are ready to dominate,” states Camille. Good luck to our YLHS FBLA!