ISAZ Students Race to Victory at Regional FBLA Competition

Last month, Insight Academy of Arizona students donned their best business professional attire, took deep breaths and shook out their nerves, and prepared to compete at the regional Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) competition.

Gearing Up for their First Competition

For many of these students, this was their first FBLA competition and the stakes were high – we need to place to be competitive on the state level and then hopefully to nationals. But whether they won or lost, this experience was going to be one they remembered forever.

With a team of eight students, Insight Academy of Arizona and Arizona Virtual Academy (AZVA) combined to be a small but mighty force. As the only online schools participating, ISAZ and AZVA students got creative to divide their projects while working from the comfort of their homes. Teams met via Zoom and coordinated their efforts remotely.

These hardworking, creative students spent months perfecting their projects, brainstorming with their teams and looking to their advisors for counsel on their presentations. All their hard work paid off when they stepped foot on Ottawa University campus and faced more than 300 other students.

A First-Place Finish, Medals and Momentum

After many hours of competing, AZVA and ISAZ emerged victoriously, winning eight medals throughout the competition. Having won gold, silver and bronze medals, these students stacked the podium.

“We are so proud of ourselves and our teammates,” says Evy, an ISAZ senior and FBLA first-place winner. “This was the first time most of us competed at FBLA and as one of the smallest schools there, we weren’t entirely sure what to expect. Not only did we have fun, but we actually won too! I can’t wait to compete at the state level.”

Students competed in individual competitions, but three seniors worked together in the Visual Design Team competition, which was to reimagine an FBLA recruitment booth design to attract new students to their club in a unique way.

Their project, which won first place, centered around an immersive raceway experience that included a hand-built racetrack with RC cars, a prize wheel, coordinated pit crew outfits and graphically designed materials like business cards, apparel, buttons and stickers— designed by the students. Their tagline for the project was “FBLA will help you cross the finish line,” and by winning first place, the sentiment rang true.

“After the students presented their project, the judge couldn’t even talk,” says Jodie McCluskey, ISAZ Digital Communications teacher and FBLA advisor. “He was so blown away with their creativity and passion for their project.”

In addition to their first-place win in Visual Design, students also won in the categories of Project Management and Entrepreneurship.

“Our students really shined during the competition,” adds McCluskey. “They were masters of their projects and handled the project management individual tests with passion and professionalism.”

Racing to State Representing the Power of Online Students

AZVA and ISAZ will be competing at the FBLA state competition on April 6-8.

As they prepare to represent their schools at the state level, ISAZ students are making a powerful statement about what students can accomplish through teamwork. The team will continue to showcase their creativity, professionalism and leadership while representing their schools and community on a much larger stage.

If FBLA sounds interesting to you or your student, reach out to Mrs. McCluskey, Ms. Rachel or Mr. Sanders to join or visit ISAZ’s College & Career Prep page to learn more.