Suits walk past you. Kids quickly shuffle their flashcards, in an attempt to do some last minute studying. Suitcases roll around the conference room. The crowd roars with excitement as they announce the winners for this year’s Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) competition. All of these sounds and sights can be seen within Yorba Linda High’s own FBLA club. 

So the big question is what is FBLA? Future Business Leaders of America is the largest, national, business and career technical student organization. It aims to educate students, ranging from middle schoolers to the collegiate level, on the American Enterprise system. Yorba Linda High’s FBLA president Megan Tsou (12) expresses the benefits that can be gained within this organization,  “One of the benefits of FBLA is that it builds your leadership skills and pulls you out of your comfort zone. Through the variety of competitions and events we participate in throughout the year, you get to network and learn social skills that will serve you in the future. Personally, it has made me more confident in myself and has given me a sense of purpose.” FBLA not only educates on the business system, but also fosters collaboration, innovation, and business leadership. Further it also instills skills such as financial literacy and critical thinking and open mindedness. 

Future Business Leaders of America is a prestigious organization, and has been ongoing since 1937. Achievements that can be accomplished in FBLA include: Business Achievement Awards, Who’s Who in FBLA, as well as competitive event awards. The organization also provides a multitude of scholarships: Dressed to Impress, National Leadership Conference Scholarship, Distinguished Business Leadership Scholarship, and the L. Byram Bates Scholarship. 

Further, Yorba Linda High’s FBLA chapter has recently hosted this year’s Southern Section Officer and Advisor Training (OAT) Day. OAT Day provides resources for chapter club advisors to gain insight and training for their role. It is student organized and led, and helps prepare clubs for activities and competitions throughout the year. 

In FBLA students not only learn how to become literate in the Business world, but also they acquire lifelong friendships and memories. Grace Peng as Southern Section Leadership Liaison expresses her favorite memory in FBLA, “My favorite FBLA memory is the 2024 State Leadership conference. I loved our late night cram sessions, downtown disney trip, and fun team bonding moments.” Further, this year’s 2024 National Leadership Conference took place in Orlando, Florida; in which, our school was fortunate to attend. Megan Tsou (12) recollects her best memory from this year’s Nationals, “My favorite memory during my time in FBLA is going to Orlando this past summer to compete at nationals. I was able to meet students from across the country, bond with other FBLA members, and have fun at Universal Studios.”

Upcoming excitement for this year’s FBLA season is expressed by Vanessa Xu (10), YLFBLA’s current publicist, “I’m looking forward to making new memories at competitions since a lot of my friends are joining this year! I’m also looking forward to competing in new events, especially group ones.” Moreover, this year’s YLFBLA president Megan Tsou (12) conveys her goals and enthusiasm for the activities planned for this upcoming year, “As president, my goal for this year is to increase the number of activities we host during the school year. In addition to succeeding in competitions, I want to organize more community service events, socials, and professional development opportunities.”

Every year our school’s YLFBLA chapter participates in competitions including: Southern Section Leadership Conference, State Leadership Conference, and National Leadership Conference. Each year the location of each conference rotates and this year both the State and the National Leadership Conference is expected to be in Anaheim, California. Past conferences have been in Chicago, Illinois; Sacramento, California; Orlando, Florida; and Anaheim, California. The next upcoming conference will be held on January 20, 2025.