Students rise to the top in business competition

Five Douglas County students know what it takes to compete in business against the best in the nation and come out on top.

Students from Superior and Northwestern high schools took to the stage at the Future Business Leaders of America National Leadership Convention in Atlanta this June.

The students placed in the top 10 in their events during the national competition.

From SHS, senior Lucas Geissler took first place in help desk, 2008 graduate Jozie Nummi took sixth in electronic career portfolio.

Calla Johnson, 2008 graduate, and senior Lindsey Splinter took third in desktop publishing. Northwestern senior Meghan Ziegel took fifth in impromptu speaking.

A total of 17 SHS students competed at the national level. Ziegel was the only NHS student to compete at the national conference. The students qualified based on their placing at the state conference in April.

FBLA events range from multiple choice tests, to skill demonstrations, speeches and written reports. The events cover all aspect of business ranging from categories of public speaking and ethics to business calculations and accounting.

Geissler's help desk event was new this year, he said.

For competition, Geissler had to take a skills test and then solve and explain a computer problem to people who aren't technologically savvy. The event was somewhat of an anomaly for everyone because it was so new. "I didn't expect to win," he said.

Geissler said he was impressed by the showing of his classmates who competed in more established events.

"Just to get onstage at the nationals is amazing," he said. "At state you have to be good to go on stage, but at nationals you have to be incredible."

The event was exhilarating for adviser Fay Hubbard who retired this spring after 20 years working with FBLA in Superior.

"The chapter as a whole did really well this year. They did an outstanding job. What a way to retire, she said. "I was overwhelmed trying to take pictures of the kids on stage. Superior more than holds its own."

Geissler's first place finish was the first time one of Hubbard's students' topped the national stage at an FBLA competition, she said.

The students who placed in the top 10 nationally all worked hard. Johnson and Splinter continually pushed themselves to do better and worked before and after school to prepare, Hubbard said.

Nummi was relentless working on her event and had a good portfolio because of the amount of FBLA activities she participated in through her three-years in FBLA, Hubbard said.

Geissler qualified for the national competition all three years he's been in FBLA. He has many talents and works hard. "He puts a great deal of effort into his studies," she said.

Ziegel's placing also came as no surprise, said Jamie Stendahl, Northwestern FBLA adviser.

She likes public speaking and organizes her thoughts well, Stendahl said.

Ziegel traveled to the conference with the Superior students.

SHS FBLA chartered a bus to go down to the event in Georgia, and Ziegel went along for the ride.

Besides competing and participating in workshops at the conference, the students spent their time touring different sites around Atlanta including CNN Headquarters, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention's museum exhibit, the Botanical Gardens and the Atlanta Zoo.

Anna Kurth covers education. Call her at (715) 395-5019 or e-mail akurth@superiortelegram.com .