From April 6-7, 2019, Midlothian High School, along with several other students in Chesterfield County, traveled to Reston, VA, to represent the Tri-Cities chapter in the FBLA State Leadership Competition. After placing either first or second in the regional competition, thirty students represented Midlo in sixteen different competitions.

On 8:30 AM of Friday, April 6, students climbed onto the charter bus and traveled up to Northern Virginia, along with their sponsor, Mrs. Yvonne Mullins, for the first round of competitions. Arriving at the Hyatt Hotel at Reston around 11 AM, students checked into their hotel rooms and began preparing for their competition. Senior James Davis says, “I competed in Impromptu Job Interview, which was one of the first competitions. I was nervous, but overall, I thought it was a really fun experience to be able to travel up to NOVA and compete on a state level.” As other students started to compete, those scheduled to compete later in the day had the opportunity to walk around the Reston Town Center and take in the new environment. Senior Gurleen Jaswal described, “We had a surprising amount of down time in between the competitions and ceremonies. I went shopping around the mini town center and watched movies in the hotel room Friday, and then on Saturday, we watched Shazam at their theater and got ice cream.”

At 8 PM, every competing FBLA member gathered in the ballroom to partake in the opening ceremony; state members announced the schedule for the upcoming days, and speeches motivated the students in the audience to do their best. As night one came to a close, students then had one hour to relax; most went for a delicious scoop of Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream before curfew settled over the hotel at 11 PM.

As early as 7:30 AM on Saturday, students rose with the sun to start their competition, donning professional business wear to their competitions, where students received one hour to complete their examination. During down time, students rested in their hotel rooms or explored the vast Reston area before the closing ceremony.

On the last night, members once again gathered in the ballroom for the closing ceremony, during which winners received recognition and awards. Junior Alyssa Marchese shared, “I had a great time. I felt fortunate to be able to compete in the state leadership conference after surprisingly placing first in the regional level. I will definitely think about possibly pursuing business in college.” At the completion of the ceremony, Mrs. Mullins gathered the students, who hopped on the charter bus, officially ending the 2019 State Conference. Arriving back in Midlothian at 1 AM on Sunday, students and chaperones were anxious to get some rest and enjoy the remainder of Spring Break. Mrs. Mullins said, “Taking students to a state competition is always a joy and a pleasure. I am so proud of our business students who qualified for this state competition, and I am very excited to take our first place winners to the national competition in San Antonio, Texas, this summer.” 

Congratulations to the following students:

First Place:

Katie Kinskie – Introduction to Business

Lena Caffal – Introduction to FBLA

Christina Mulroy – Introduction to Business Communications

Second Place:

Shelby Harris – Introduction to Business Communication

James Davis – Job Interview

Tad Kozusko – Economics

Third Place:

Devon McGill, Kelsey Seiler, Alyssa Marchese – Broadcast Journalism

Fourth Place:

Hunter Keso – Introduction to Business Presentation

Fifth Place:

Gurleen Jaswal – Business Law

Andrew Blankenship – Accounting I