Five TWHS students qualified for FBLA Nationals this year through online testing due to COVID-19.

“This is the most that TWHS has had qualify for Nationals, in our 24 years as a chapter,” Margie Filer, the FBLA advisor, said.

Caleb Layton placed first in Spreadsheet Applications and senior Justin Wiley placed third in Accounting II at FBLA State. They both are qualifiers for Nationals. Maxi Cabrejos placed fifth in Future Business Leader and David Rabalais and Nicholas Wang placed seventh in Public Service Announcement.They qualified for Nationals as alternates.

Due to COVID-19, FBLA has decided to cancel all in-person competitions until next year. They are currently planning a virtual Nationals conference with online tests.

“I am really unsure on how the virtual meet will look, I’m hoping to be able to still get to network with some of my competitors if possible.” Justin Wiley said.

There is one silver lining for Wiley, but a definite downside as well.

“[There’s] less stress doing it online for sure, but I am really bummed to miss out on the networking opportunity at the national competition,” Wiley said.

Future Business Leaders of America-Phi Beta Lambda, Inc. (FBLA-PBL) is the largest career student business organization in the world. Each year, FBLA-PBL helps over 230,000 members prepare for careers in business.