By Jennifer Kohlhepp, Managing Editor
High school seniors Jay Vaingankar and Mehdi Hussaini placed sixth in the nation in the competitive event “Entrepreneurship” at the Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) National Leadership Conference held earlier this year.
They participated in the FBLA regional competition last January and advanced to the FBLA state competition in East Brunswick where they placed first in the state this past February. At the national competition in Chicago, Illinois, they competed against the top qualifiers from high school FBLA chapters from all 50 states.
“We first competed at the regional level, taking a computerized objective test,” Mehdi said. “To prepare for this, Jay and I read through the ‘Entrepreneurship’ textbook used in the school’s course of the same name.”
Jay said they had to learn and understand the equivalent to a full-year course in entrepreneurship.
“Preparation was done outside of school,” Mehdi said. “Through this objective test, we placed in the top three finalists in the state and advanced to the state level. This competition entailed a case study, which we had to respond to and present in front of judges. At the state leadership conference, Jay and I placed first overall, and qualified for the national tournament.”
The event at the national tournament was similar to the event at the state leadership conference, only on a much larger scale, according to Mehdi.
“We took another computerized objective test and made the first cut,” he said. “We then gave a similar presentation and qualified as winners of the event, placing sixth in the nation.”
Jay said while part of the competition was doing well in an objective multiple-choice test, the other part of the competition was a case study, in which they evaluated a simulated small business condition and made proposals/recommendations in the form of a persuasive presentation.
When asked what they learned from the experience, Jay said, “The experience allowed us to meet hundreds of students among thousands of delegates who also competed in different competitions. We learned how to network with others and exchange ideas on how to fundraise, compete, and improve the business education programs back at our own school. The competition itself put our memory and studying skills to the test, as well as our public speaking and critical thinking skills. It definitely taught us that business is all about making calculated decisions and making connections with the right people. We were glad to bring home an award and a stipend to help fund our chapter.”
Mehdi said he learned that there are plenty of other like-minded leaders in the country, but he still has the ability to distinguish himself from them through achievement.
“I experienced first-hand the benefits and drawbacks of teamwork,” Mehdi said. “In addition, I gained experience learning material outside of a classroom setting and applying that information to solve a variety of business-related problems posed by the case studies. I enjoyed using my public speaking skills on a national level and developing them further through competition.”
