Thirteen state awards came home to York when the York Phi Beta Lambda (PBL) Chapter competed in the 2021 Future Business Leaders of America - Phi Beta Lambda (FBLA-PBLA) state competition held in April. This is the third year in a row that Penn State York students brought home state awards and qualified to compete at nationals being held now. The state competition, as well as the nationals, were held online due to COVID-19 restrictions.
Students competed in national exams earlier in June and preliminary performance events were held June 17 and 18. The national conference, with sessions for students, is June 24-27 and awards will be presented during virtual live sessions June 26 and 27.
“It was a great moment to see Penn State York students winning state awards for their work, research, and professional skills during the PBL State Leadership Conference, said Megan Lorenz, PBL adviser and lecturer in business administration at Penn State York. “Their performance is not only a reflection of the quality education they have received while at Penn State York, but their personal desire and passion for their own development,” she said.
To compete at nationals, students had to place first or second in a presentation event or first through third in an exam at the state competition. Fifteen Penn State York students competed at the state level and earned 13 awards.
“These students had to do spend significant time outside the classroom performing hours of research, rehearsing their presentations, and preparing for exams. None of this work contributed to a grade in any course. These students were motivated by their own desire for personal development, which is truly admirable and amazing,” said Lorenz.
State competition winners:
1st Place – Business Decision-Making and Analysis
Supichaya Boonyapakorm and Kyle Fullerton
1st Place – Business Ethics
Sadrina Imam
1st Place – Business Presentation
Supichaya Boonyapakorn and Adam Boyer
1st Place - Management Concepts
Kensington Minor
1st Place - Microeconomics
Justin Lin
2nd Place – Accounting Principles
Linghan Guo
2nd Place - Business Decision-Making and Analysis
Elias Blue and Jordan Decorum
2nd Place – Entrepreneurship Concepts
Kyle Fullerton
2nd Place - Future Business Executive
Rytzl D’Souza
2nd Place – Impromptu Speaking
Jordan Dikoum
2nd Place – Marketing Concepts
Austin Albright
3rd Place – Microeconomics
Victoria Huynh
3rd Place – Organization Behavior and Leadership
Kensington Minor
Students credit their success to the encouragement, support, hard work and dedication from their adviser, Megan Lorenz.
Since 2019, the first time the York PBL chapter competed, they have won 33 awards at the state level, including 15 first-place awards. At the national level, not including 2021, they have won 13 awards, including four first-place awards.