Morrisville State students, professor participate in national leadership conference

Morrisville State students Renee Hill, of Canastota and Amanda Watkins, of Cazenovia, recently attended the Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) Institute for Leaders (IFL) training, and the Phi Beta Lambda (PBL) National Leadership Conference (NLC), held in Anaheim, Calif.



Held in conjunction with the NLC, the IFL is an intensive, two-day seminar that focuses on leadership skills for state and local chapter officers, as well as members and advisers. Hill and Watkins are both members of the Morrisville State PBL chapter.



Also attending the training conference, which was sponsored by the Sheila Johnson Institute, was Dr. Sherie Boyce, of Manlius, assistant professor of business and management and MSC PBL adviser.



“The students represented Morrisville State College quite well. They developed increased leadership skills and competencies while completing the Institute for Leaders program and also competing in various categories,” Boyce said.



During the conference, Watkins, an entrepreneurship and small business management bachelor degree student, was part of an entrepreneurship team that earned runner-up honors in the ‘Shark Tank” edition of the Enterprise Experience competition. Her team, chosen as one of the top three for creating new products/services in the Ultimate Top Business Idea for 2013, had less than two days to develop a new product/service for potential launch.



“The entire experience was so amazing that MSC PBL students are already preparing to compete for the National Leadership Convention in Nashville, Tenn. in 2014,” Boyce said.



Throughout the 2012–2013 academic year Hill, a business administration bachelor degree major, and Watkins, along with other members of the college's PBL organization, worked as peer tutors and volunteered in various capacities in the college community. They also participated in the PBL Regional Competition in Business Communication and judged Skills USA Area II Competitions.