Twenty-one members of the Mount Pleasant ISD Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) Middle Level, grades 5th – 8th, competed at the National Leadership Conference in Atlanta, Ga. from June 25-June 30, with one member named a national finalist.

Emily Crabb, a seventh grader at Mount Pleasant Junior High, was a national finalist in Elevator Speech, placing her in the top 15 in the nation in that event. This is Crabb’s second national FBLA award.

While in Atlanta, the students toured the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historical Park, visiting Ebenezer Baptist Church, his birth home, tomb, and museum. They toured Buckhead Mansion and took in an Atlanta Braves baseball game. Later in the week, the students visited the World of Coca-Cola, the Georgia Aquarium, the Atlanta Zoo, and the College Football Hall of Fame. At the National Leadership Conference, team members explored the expo hall, traded pins with teams from other states, and attended a team building workshop lead by MPHS FBLA member and Vice-President for Area 6, Sophie Greco, and the other Texas State officers.

“The group represented MPISD with pride during our time at the conference,” said MPISD FBLA Middle Level Advisor, Dana Armstrong. “I am very proud of all the students’ hard work and dedication to prepare for their events. Atlanta was a great learning experience for all of us. The students are already talking about next year! I would like to extend a special thanks to Daisy Banda, advisor, and Nathan and Lisa Rider for all their help during the trip and for the support of the MPISD Administration and the school board. Without you the trip would not have been possible.”

Students competing for MPISD included Sage Jordan and Zoe Zuniga in Annual Chapter Activities, Mykaela King, Sabrina Otero, and Alba Zeqaj in Business Ethics, Hudson Rider in Career Exploration, Jaliyah Brown in Career Research, Jayden Baker, Blakely Garrett, and Cooper Rider in Community Service Presentation, Annie Crabb and Abi Verner in Exploring Business Issues, April Lozano in FBLA Concepts, Aubree Hawkins and Kaiser Sheppard in Marketing Mix Challenge, Juan Mata and Sebastian Otero in Multimedia and Website Design, and Isabella Furnish, Aloani Laboy, and Charity Prater in Video Game Challenge.

Mount Pleasant ISD FBLA Middle Level was chartered at Wallace Middle School in the fall of 2018 with the help of Matthew Armstrong, 2018-19 MPHS FBLA President and Texas FBLA Area 6 State Vice-President, along with the MPHS FBLA advisor, John Whitten. The group has since expanded to include members from Mount Pleasant Junior High. For more information or to join the MPISD FBLA Middle Level, grades 5th-8th, contact Dana Armstrong at [email protected].

Photos:

Crabb: MPISD FBLA Middle Level national finalist, Emily Crabb

FBLA Middle: MPISD FBLA Middle Level national competitors

1st row (L to R): Aloani Laboy, Sebastian Otero, Zoe Zuniga, Annie Crabb, Abi Verner, Emily Crabb

2nd row (L to R): Charity Prater, Sage Jordan, Hudson Rider, Aubree Hawkins, Blakely Garrett, Mykaela King, Sabrina Otero

3rd row (L to R): Isabella Furnish, Juan Mata, Kaiser Sheppard, April Lozano, Jaliyah Brown, Alba Zeqaj, Cooper Rider, Jayden Baker