By Charlie Dubofsky, Madison Kane, Amneet Kaur and Ryan Landsberg
Jericho FBLA is one of the largest clubs in Jericho with hundreds of students. We strive to teach our members more about business and share opportunities for them to get involved in. Our goal is to make students fearless business leaders beyond the classrooms and take it to the next level. At Jericho FBLA, we aim to enhance our public speaking, presentation, and networking skills. Though the club is very competitive, we are all about opening up opportunities for students to portray their business expertise.
Senior presidents Brian Berger, Elana Kane, and Evan Peykar, members of the club for three years, shared their perspectives on a new internship program with Kings Crest Global (KCG). Kane found this internship this past summer, worked online with executives from all over the world, and said “it was a very fulfilling experience that brought in my perspective on what the business world really is.” Kane was one of the company’s first interns which made them want to extend their internship program, so KCG worked with Elana Kane to create this internship program. Kane thinks that “this will enlighten the perspective of FBLA club members, because yes, a lot of us are involved in the business department at Jericho High School, but actually applying this knowledge to the real world and critical thinking is going to be essential to their future careers in whatever field they go into.”
Kane further explained how the program is very diverse and allows students to have the opportunity to choose a field they want to pursue. In addition, Berger stated that “we thought it would benefit the company itself and our members get more experience and add more to their résumé.”.” Berger also expressed how the internship will “give the selected students a different experience that can enhance their skill set that they can bring to states, nationals, and other events.” Furthermore, Peykar said that he “is excited for younger members to gain insight into how a real company operates. I’m really excited for our members to be able to participate in this.”
On Friday Nov. 3, 10 Jericho FBLA students went to participate in the Adelphi Apprentice Challenge. At the Adelphi Apprentice Challenge, students are given a real life prompt and need to provide a solution for the company. They are put in groups with people from other schools. It tests teamwork and on-the-fly thinking. Junior and three-year member of the club Max attended the competition. He was very excited to collaborate and learn different business strategies from participants from various schools. He said, “I can honestly say I am very excited for this opportunity. As this is a competition exclusive to Jericho FBLA officers, I feel honored to be participating, and can’t wait to form connections with young business-minded students all across Long Island.”
As part of the challenge is examining case studies for a local business, students are given a voice in decisions that can directly impact them. Senior and three-year member Ben Karol, agrees that examining the case studies has many benefits. “ I think that when students of a similar geographic region work on a case study for a local business it only provides benefits towards the businesses because the main goal is to further the business’s operations and provide them with ways to improve their organization,” he said.
One of the first competitions we have introduced this year is Ready, Set, Lead, also known as RSL. This competition has been introduced to students in Jericho FBLA due to its multitude of events and learning opportunities. One student participating in this competition is Jaelyn Chow, a junior, who is competing in Hospitality. Chow claims she chose Hospitality because she was looking for “an event that included event creating, customer attraction, and marketing strategies.“ She also went on to say that she is looking forward to the competition, as she is “anticipating the opportunity to meet new people.”
Another participant, Sunny Zhao, who is competing in Graphic Design, shared some of the skills she has developed while preparing for RSL. Zhao stated, “Some enlightenment I gained during my preparation for RSL was how important the input of others can be.” She claims that with the help of classmates, she and her partner, Kyle Lee, were able to create a logo that satisfied both of them. Jaelyn Chow and Sunny Zhao began their projects as soon as the prompts were released and consistently contributed time towards it on a daily basis until the submission deadline. Ready Set Lead is an amazing opportunity for students to become familiar with the structure of FBLA and learn important presentation skills.
Clearly, here at Jericho FBLA we offer and compete in a multitude of competitions and give club members ample opportunity to flourish in the business realm. With business internships and competitions to compete in, FBLA offers incredible skills and resources to students. We all are super excited to compete in these upcoming events and hope for the best outcomes for all involved.
— Charlie Dubofsky, Madison Kane, Amneet Kaur and Ryan Landsberg are students at Jericho High School.
