Ashton Reneau and Annalea Zhao enjoy themselves at the district conference. Photo Credit: Alexandre Shappell

On Wednesday, February 7, members of Fossil Ridge High School’s Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) team competed at the district level competition at the Union Colony Civic Center in Greeley, Colorado. Fossil students performed well at this state qualifier, with nearly fifty top-five finishes. However, people who double qualify at districts can only compete in one event at state. That rule allows a wider variety of students to compete at the state competition.

FBLA events range from Accounting and Business Law to Journalism and Public Speaking. They cover a wide range of topics, and while some are presentation or speech based, others require their participants to take a test over specific knowledge. The top four competitors in role-play events at districts advance to State, while the top three from computer-based events do. For a more in-depth account of how an event might look, click here.

Alexandre Shappell, junior, went to nationals for FBLA last year in Anaheim, California. He competed in Public Speaking again this competition, and achieved a perfect score of 100. That score is created from a combination of factors: the relevancy of the speech material to the rubric, the demeanor of the delivery, and even the dress code of the speaker. Shappell explains that it feels, “incredible to be able to say that I’ve accomplished one of my big goals for the year.” However, he isn’t stopping there. Besides the goal of reaching the national competition again, Shappell wants to speak at more events. He says that he would, “love to make this a large element of my career, going around to different conferences and sharing my message, motivating and inspiring people to live successful and fulfilling lives.”