Buchholz High School Recognized with Fourteen Top Honors 
at FBLA State Leadership Virtual Conference

Press release from Alachua County Public Schools

In a year that is far from normal and during Alachua County Public Schools Spring Break, more than fifty students from the Buchholz High School Academy of Finance/Future Business Leaders of America Chapter competed virtually against some of Florida’s best and brightest high school students to Reimagine Tomorrow as they showcased their talents as future business leaders and vied for the opportunity to compete at Nationals this summer.

Florida Future Business Leaders of America-Phi Beta Lambda (FBLA-PBL) held its FBLA State Leadership Conference virtually on March 25^th to March 27^th.  Participants from across the state of Florida, including fifty-five members from the Academy of Finance at Buchholz High School, participated in this exciting conference to enhance their business skills, expand their networks, and participate in more than 50 business and business-related competitive events.  

Fourteen students from Buchholz High Schools Academy of Finance in Gainesville, Florida, received recognition at the FBLA Awards of Excellence Program on March 27^th. First Place winners were Devika Kumar for Accounting I and Isabelle Tseng for Introduction to Business. Second Place winners included the team of Amy Xing, Sean Han and Xiya Zhou for Banking and Financial Services, Siddharth Bianchi for Economics, and Michael Fahn for Political Science.  Third place finishers included Keen Zhang for Accounting I. Lucas Dai finished 4^th place for Agribusiness and Zach Corda for Introduction to Business Procedures. Fifth place finishers were Albert Yang in Agribusiness, Timmy Li for Business Calculations, Amarissa Beardsley for Public Service Announcement, and Kevin Zheng for Securities and Investments.  

“It is great to have students compete at the state level of FBLA even during their Spring Break and to have fourteen students place is so exciting,” said Michele Brothers, Director of the Academy of Finance and FBLA Advisor.  “All 3 advisors, myself, Mr. Bell, and Mrs. Berben are very proud of their accomplishments and commitment.”  Miss Brothers also sends a big thank you to David Eckhardt with the Florida Credit Union for working with the team on Banking and Financial Systems.  

In addition to the competitions, a small group of students came to Buchholz to participate together in the opening session, a general session with keynote speaker Mr. Johnny “Joey” Jones and the Awards of Excellence Program.  Principal Mr. Kevin Purvis joined the group for the Awards of Excellence Program on Saturday evening and watched as Buchholz student Zachery Galloway was inducted as the Region II Vice President for Florida FBLA.  During these sessions, students participated in ice breakers and fun activities.  Dillan Wernecke and Lucas Dai won gift cards to Dunkin. and Sean Han won a gift card to Starbucks.

Michele Brothers and Zachery Galloway, Florida FBLA Region II Vice President

Students participating in the Awards of Excellence Virtual Ceremony at Buchholz High School
Lucas Dai, Sean Han, Nathan Wei, Amy Xing, Isabelle Tseng, and Timmy Li

The future of Buchholz High School FBLA, 9^th graders Ben Stapleton, Dillan Wernecke, Hunter Carnley and David Greist.

Lucas Dai – winner of a Dunkin gift card during the small gathering at Buchholz High School for the virtual general session.