Kemper County High School FBLA is headed to Chicago for its national conference

MERIDIAN, Miss. (WTOK) - Six students from Kemper County High School are making their way to the Windy City Tuesday morning as they gather and compete against other students at the national Future Business Leaders of America conference.

The Future Business Leaders of America is hosting its national conference in Chicago this week. Over 14,000 students will be making their way to compete against their fellow peers in several different competitions. Kemper County High School is sending several students, for the first time, to test their skills.

“I am competing in computer operating systems, it’s an open event, so I do have the chance to compete with the best in the nation, so for that, I have prepared. I’ve been studying Quizlet, I have already took a computer science class here, so I’ve pretty much got that down pat,” said Mississippi FBLA President, Mary Arrington.

These students have been working for several months in and outside the classroom to prepare for the challenges ahead. Jake Bohannon, the student advisor, has been there every step of the way, making sure that the students are ready for what is ahead of them.

“We had competition boot camps as well as competed at the regional level, the state level, and now have the opportunity to compete at the national level, and we also did a lot of fundraisers for this event,” said FBLA adviser, Jake Bohannon

There will be experts in each category to give their advice for the students to learn and grow. Students get to pick their category and competition based on what they see themselves doing as a future career.

“I’m looking forward to learning even more stuff, even if it is like taking the test or picking up from other people. I’m willing to learn about my category in event planning,” said FBLA student, Tyamber Steele.

The competitions range from computer sciences to retail management.

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