Rising Leaders
FBLA Nationals Marks a Milestone for Students
By: Hailey Knott, Hailey Hoffman, and Brielle Bruns
Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) is a unique organization that helps promote and showcase the leadership and business skills of its members. Being a part of the chapter also presents members with the opportunity to compete in events at the state conference. Last summer, three members, seniors Camryn Engel, Emma Hoppe, and Kinley Kaczor, placed third at state with their visual design project, which qualified them to compete at the national level.
These three traveled all the way to Anaheim, California, at the end of June to compete at the national convention and present their visual design project. Their project was a presentation of a farmers’ market that they created. It was an in-depth view of what it may look like, and they designed the whole thing from scratch. This marked the first time that DT students have qualified for the national competition.
Hoppe exclaimed, “It surprised me to hear our names called at state, and it made me incredibly proud. It also made me even more excited to compete this year.”
Their journey to nationals wasn’t easy, and the girls worked overtime to ensure they were prepared to be able to compete to the best of their abilities.
FBLA advisor Ms. Sydney Atkinson stated, “After the state competition, the girls took the judges' feedback and made tons of revisions to reinvent their project and help it reach higher standards.”
The competition took place from June 29 to July 1, 2025. Over the course of the 4-day competition, the girls also participated in many workshops.
Kaczor said, “The first workshop we attended involved picking one of our lowest qualities, turning it into our biggest strength, and then talking about it with strangers.”
During the workshops, participants expanded their existing skills and developed new ones that they incorporated into their daily lives. They often picked skills such as public speaking and confidence, which were improved through practicing the skills in person with strangers.
Although the trip was primarily for FBLA, it never stopped the girls from getting to experience new things and make countless new memories outside of the competition. Along with Atkinson, these three seniors had the opportunity to experience all the best that Anaheim, California, has to offer. They got to do things like go to the beach, visit Disneyland, and experience the downtown.
Engel said her favorite part of the trip was “traveling all the way to Hollywood to see things I have never seen before, and getting to go on an actual tour to see famous people’s houses.”
The competition itself also had plenty to experience.
Hoppe says her favorite part of the competition was “getting to present my project that we were very proud of and getting to see it come together, while also getting to be around lots of new people from not only Nebraska, but the entire United States was really cool.”
Overall, everyone involved in the trip had a great experience, whether it was competing at the convention or exploring all the new and exciting things California had to offer. In the coming years, FBLA will continue to offer the opportunity to compete at higher levels with competitive events and presentation projects. They will also continue to encourage students to get involved in the community and school with different activities and opportunities to volunteer.
Engel said, “Going far last year has made us even more excited for this year and the opportunity to compete again.”