Most high school students aren’t willing to wake up at 4:30 in the morning for a school event. However, Pitman’s FBLA did just that on March 25 when they traveled to compete in Visalia for Sections. Each FBLA member was required to compete in two events, and spent the few months prior to sections preparing for their tests. Each event lasted an hour unless a competitor was involved in a speaking event such as Public Speaking or Job Interview.

The events for competitions vary and some of them even require creativity or previous knowledge. Most students play to their strengths, so if a student is generally good using computers, then he or she might compete in Technology Concepts. Preparations for these events are very limited, which makes the competition more intense during Sections and State.

In the time in-between the competition and the awards ceremony, Redwood High School had previously organized an outdoor luncheon and group activities. All of the high schools were required to participate in the fun relay games and time flew by until the awards ceremony.

For me, the awards ceremony was nerve wracking. When the finalists are called to the stage, they must stand in front of all the schools to hear their place in their event. Speaking from experience, the butterflies would not go away, but once my name was called, I felt a huge sense of accomplishment. Being able to walk back to your school’s section with a plaque in hand is a great feeling.

In terms of overall performance, Pitman did very well at the Sections competition. We got second out of all the schools to get the most plaques. Fifty-three students originally came to Sections, and of those, thirty-four have qualified to compete at the State competition in Anaheim this April. Everyone worked incredibly hard for this accomplishment, and it seemed that for every event, someone from Pitman placed.

The next step for FBLA is the State competition in Anaheim, where Pitman will compete with schools from all over California rather than just the central valley. This trip is especially exciting because the students also have the opportunity to spend a day in Disneyland. I’m sure that Pitman will do equally well at the State competition and possibly even have a bid for Nationals.