Students from both I.A. Lewis and Ruston Junior High brought home numerous awards from the National Future Business Leaders of America National Leadership Conference in Chicago held June 28 through July 2.
To be allowed to compete, these students, who range from fifth grade to eighth grade, had to come in either first or second place at the state conference, which was held in April in Lafayette.
Because of the pandemic, this was the very first time these students have had an opportunity to compete in person at the national level and they brought home numerous awards.
Those competing at the National Leadership Conference were:
Marirose Spillers and Amyrie Jackson (I.A. Lewis)–Community Service Project
Daulton Price (I.A. Lewis)–Video Game Challenge
Eli Clark (I. A. Lewis) –Video Game Challenge, 7th place overall
Laini Holloway (Ruston Junior High) –Digital Citizenship
Layla Garner (Ruston Junior High) –Exploring Technology
Joshua Daulton (Ruston Junior High) –Exploring Business Issues, 4th place overall
Preston Parker (Ruston Junior High) –FBLA Concepts, 2nd place overall
Joshua Daulton was also honored with the “Young Leader” medal for the State of Louisiana. One student from each state Middle Level chapter is awarded this honor and is recognized yearly at the NLC.
Faculty advisers for the FBLA students include Katelynne Levesque from I.A. Lewis and Christina Watts from Ruston Junior High.
When the students weren’t competing, they were attending meetings and workshops and of course touring the city of Chicago. The official start of the conference was a meeting held June 28, where the entire FBLA delegation from the state of Louisiana were in attendance. The meeting was overseen by the state officers, including Louisiana Middle Level President Preston Parker.
