Morrisville State students were among more than 1,800 of America's best and brightest college students who showcased their talents as future business leaders during the Future Business Leaders of America-Phi Beta Lambda (FBLA-PBL) National Leadership Conference held recently in Nashville, Tenn.
Participants from across the United States and two countries participated in the conference which enabled them to sharpen their core business skills, expand their networks, and participate in more than 55 business and business-related competitive events.
Amanda Watkins, of Nelson, a May graduate in the college's entrepreneurship and small business management bachelor degree program, placed sixth in the Entrepreneurship Concepts category. This individual competition entailed an objective test of competencies of the areas of: business plan, community/business relations, legal issues, initial capital and credit, personnel management, financial management, marketing management, taxes, and government regulations.
Also bringing home kudos was Morrisville State student James Hunt, of Utica, a student in the information technology: network administration bachelor degree program. Hunt placed sixth in the Help Desk competitive event as an individual, and placed fifth in the Network Design competition as a team with Zach Champoux, a student from Herkimer Community College.
The Help Desk Individual Competitive Event entailed an objective test of competencies (including a case) of the following areas: introduction to help desk concepts, help desk operations, help desk roles & responsibilities, help desk process & procedures, help desk performance measure, help desk setting, customer support, management process | case: an interactive role-play scenario based on customer service in the technical field.
The Morrisville State Phi Beta Lambda Chapter members earned the opportunity to compete at the national level after placing in competitive events at the State Leadership Conference this past spring.
“I could not be more proud of and excited for the success of our students,” said Dr. Sherie Boyce, MSC assistant professor of business/management and PBL MSC Chapter adviser. “They worked very hard to achieve academic honors, while maintaining responsibilities in their educational, leadership, and community service endeavors.”
The awards were part of a comprehensive national competitive events program sponsored by FBLA-PBL that recognizes and rewards excellence in a broad range of business and career-related areas. In addition to the competitions, students immersed themselves in educational workshops, attended motivational sessions on a broad range of business topics, and participated in various networking and social events in the Nashville area.
In addition to the students' awards of excellence, Morrisville State was a recipient of the Phi Beta Lambda (PBL) Hollis and Kitty Guy Gold Seal Award of Merit, which recognizes as an outstanding local chapter that has actively participated in projects and programs identified with the goals of FBLA-PBL. Only the top 15 percent of the total number of local chapters earn this award.
Morrisville State's chapter was also a recipient of the Power of One Membership Program - Increased Member¬ship by One Member over last year's total, and for its contributions to the following New York State PBL Awards:
- Largest State Recruitment of Chapters, first place for the Eastern region
- Largest PBL State Chapter, second place for the Eastern region
- Largest Increase in State Chapter Membership, first place for the Eastern region
Future Business Leaders of America-Phi Beta Lambda, Inc. is a nonprofit education association with a quarter million members and advisers in more than 6,500 active middle school, high school, and college chapters worldwide. Its mission is to bring business and education together in a positive working relationship through innovative leadership and career development programs.