LPS students bank winning marks in state, national business leadership contests

Lincoln Public Schools students created winning portfolios this spring with high-performing marks in state and national business contests.
 
High school students from East, North Star, Northeast, Southwest and Standing Bear earned major awards at the Nebraska Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) State Leadership Conference (SLC). More than 2,100 middle and high school students and advisors from 140 state chapters attended the conference in Kearney.
 
Hundreds of FBLA members took part in competitive events. The top eight students in each category earned state medals. Students who finished outside the top eight spots in an event could receive honorable mention awards if they finished within the top four percent of all competitors.
 
Forty-nine LPS students captured state recognition for their work. Nebraska students who placed first, second or third in their contests automatically qualified for a trip to the national conference. National FBLA events took place June 27-July 2 in Orlando.
 
Students were only allowed to compete in one competitive individual/team event at the national conference. If they qualified for nationals in more than one category, they had to choose which event they would like to enter.
 
This rule provides opportunities for more students from each state to attend the national conference. For example, if a student chose to compete in Event A instead of Event B, this would have created an open spot in Event B. Spots may also have come open if students were unable to attend nationals due to scheduling conflicts.
 
Nebraska FBLA officials offered spots to the next student or team on the list based on how they finished at state. They continued to offer national tickets until all three competitor slots were filled in each category.
 
Each school has a list of state medalists at the end of its recap. Students may have qualified for nationals in multiple categories, but a national qualifier designation is only listed next to the event they chose to participate in at Orlando.

Lincoln East

East business teacher Lori Anderson-Stowe said she was proud of her students for their efforts at state. Nineteen were either state medalists or honorable mention recipients and 11 Spartans accepted invitations to national contests.
 
“The members were very happy with their results and many are looking forward to competing at the National Leadership Conference this summer,” Anderson-Stowe said. “They are competing in a wide variety of events.”

 
Arnav Agarwal, Shrey Agarwal, Brad Bobaru, George Campbell, Alexander Costea, Tan Do, Rikhil Jasti, Anish Koduri, Annabelle Kumm, Jack Soukup and Logan You represented East at nationals.

Shrey Agarwal reached the finals of the future business leader contest, Kumm reached the finals of the visual design category and Jasti reached the finals of the introduction to marketing event. Agarwal and Kumm both earned second place in the nation and Jasti earned third place. They received trophies for their achievements at the Awards of Excellence Ceremony on July 2.

Lincoln East Results

Advertising: Zoe Campbell – Third Place
Agribusiness: Alexander Costea – Fourth Place (National Qualifier)
Business Calculations: Shrey Agarwal – Second Place
Business Calculations: Logan You – Third Place (National Qualifier)
Business Calculations: Mason Chandler – Fourth Place
Business Communication: Jack Soukup – Second Place
Business Law: Jack Soukup – Fifth Place
Coding and Programming: Yakub Islamov – First Place
Coding and Programming: Arnav Agarwal – Sixth Place (National Qualifier)
Computer Problem Solving: Yakub Islamov – First Place
Computer Problem Solving: Ronav Ganesh – Honorable Mention
Cyber Security: Yakub Islamov – First Place
Cyber Security: Cheryl Zeng – Honorable Mention
Data Analysis: Shrey Agarwal, Mason Chandler, Ian Tinsley – First Place
Economics: Zoe Campbell – Second Place
Economics: Shrey Agarwal – Fourth Place
Economics: Mason Chandler – Fifth Place
Economics: Jack Soukup – Eighth Place (National Qualifier)
Future Business Leader: Shrey Agarwal – First Place (National Qualifier)
Help Desk: Cheryl Zeng – Seventh Place
Human Resources Management: Logan You – Honorable Mention
Introduction to Business Communication: Ronav Ganesh – Honorable Mention
Introduction to Business Communication: Tan Do – Honorable Mention
Introduction to Business Concepts: Rikhil Jasti – Honorable Mention
Introduction to Business Procedures: Anish Koduri – Third Place
Introduction to Business Procedures: Tan Do – Fourth Place (National Qualifier)
Introduction to Business Procedures: Rikhil Jasti – Sixth Place
Introduction to Business Procedures: George Campbell – Honorable Mention (National Qualifier)
Introduction to Business Procedures: Arnav Agarwal – Honorable Mention
Introduction to FBLA: Annabelle Kumm – First Place
Introduction to FBLA: Rikhil Jasti – Honorable Mention
Introduction to Financial Math: Anish Koduri – Sixth Place
Introduction to Financial Math: Arnav Agarwal – Honorable Mention
Introduction to Information Technology: Anish Koduri – Third Place (National Qualifier)
Introduction to Information Technology: Tan Do – Fourth Place
Introduction to Information Technology: Arnav Agarwal – Honorable Mention
Introduction to Information Technology: Ayush Mishra – Honorable Mention
Introduction to Marketing Concepts: Rikhil Jasti – Second Place (National Qualifier)
Introduction to Marketing Concepts: Ronav Ganesh – Honorable Mention
Introduction to Parliamentary Procedure: Rikhil Jasti – Eighth Place
Job Interview: Shrey Agarwal – Honorable Mention
Journalism: Lawson Martinez – Eighth Place
Marketing: Lawson Martinez – Eighth Place
Networking Infrastructures: Yakub Islamov – First Place
Organizational Leadership: Logan You – Honorable Mention
Personal Finance: Mason Chandler – Second Place
Personal Finance: Jack Soukup – Honorable Mention
Securities and Investments: Mason Chandler – First Place
Supply Chain Management: Annabelle Kumm – Fifth Place
UX Design: Brad Bobaru – Fifth Place (National Qualifier)
Visual Design: Annabelle Kumm – First Place (National Qualifier)
Website Coding and Programming: Yakub Islamov – Fourth Place

Lincoln North Star

Davis Ball and Grant Streff led North Star’s chapter at the conference. Ball said the Navigators were happy with the way they competed. The team had 13 state medalists and sent five students to nationals.
 
“We were very pleased with our performance at SLC this year,” Ball said. “North Star took its largest group (24 students) to state this year with a number of younger and new members experiencing their first state conference.”

 
Brooke Adam, Kristi Chumber, Ezekiel Menter, Rachel Harre and Avari Osentowski traveled to Florida for national events. Adam led the school with four state medals during her time in Kearney.
 
Ball said he believes the future is bright for North Star’s program. Many Navigators were either freshmen or sophomores this year, and more than 75 students participated in chapter activities throughout 2023-24.
 
“We were super excited our young group got the chance to attend and compete against the rest of the state, and we were humbled to bring home the title of largest Class A FBLA chapter (77 members) for the second year in a row,” Ball said.

Lincoln North Star Results

Accounting I: Brooke Adam – Honorable Mention
Advertising: Jake Taylor – Honorable Mention
Business Calculations: Brooke Adam – Eighth Place
Entrepreneurship: Ezekiel Menter, Jack Sindelar – Seventh Place
International Business: Brooke Adam, Kristi Chumber, Ezekiel Menter – Fourth Place (National Qualifiers)
International Business: Eva Sindelar, Jack Sindelar – Fifth Place
Introduction to Business Communication: Eva Sindelar – Honorable Mention
Introduction to Business Concepts: Isaac Rabago – Second Place
Introduction to Event Planning: Jace Medina, Isaac Rabago, Ryan Vogt – Fourth Place
Introduction to Financial Math: Isaac Rabago – Honorable Mention
Introduction to Parliamentary Procedure: Max Roberts – Honorable Mention
Journalism: Brooke Adam – Honorable Mention
Marketing: Jace Medina, Isaac Rabago, Jake Taylor – Seventh Place
Organizational Leadership: Alex Moyer – Honorable Mention
Sports and Entertainment Management: Rachel Harre, Avari Osentowski – Fifth Place (National Qualifiers)

Lincoln Northeast

Shanda Dinneen and Brett Davis guided Northeast’s chapter throughout the school year. Adam Kramer and Jorden Blake-Oxley each brought home state medals for the Rockets. They collected their prizes in the human resources management category.

Lincoln Northeast Results

Human Resources Management: Adam Kramer – Seventh Place
Human Resources Management: Jorden Blake-Oxley – Eighth Place

Lincoln Southwest

Southwest business teacher Josh Hinrichs said he was pleased with the state results. The Silver Hawks had 13 medalists and sent seven students to the national conference.

“I am very happy with how well our students performed,” Hinrichs said. “We are the only chapter in Lincoln, and probably one of the few, if not the only, in the state, that has required weekly study sessions, so having students perform as well as our students did validates their efforts. It will also help inspire members returning and new next year to dedicate themselves each week so they can get on stage and hopefully qualify for NLC next year.”

 
Shreeram Chauradia, Alexandria Lionberger, Alaina Miller, Autumn Stock, Claire Timperley, Isha Valloppilly and Cole Wilkason represented Southwest at nationals. Stock, Wilkason and Timperley each won state championships for the school.

Timperley advanced to the finals of the impromptu speaking category at nationals, and Lionberger, Miller and Valloppilly captured a spot in the sales presentation finals. Timperley pocketed a sixth-place trophy and Lionberger, Miller and Valloppilly finished tenth in the nation.

Lincoln Southwest Results

Advertising: Cole Wilkason – First Place (National Qualifier)
Agribusiness: Autumn Stock – Honorable Mention
Business Calculations: Cole Wilkason – Honorable Mention
Business Calculations: Poppy Brown – Honorable Mention
Business Ethics: Jada Frank, Elliana Witt – Honorable Mention
Business Plan: Jada Frank, Stefani Johnson, Elliana Witt – Second Place
Electronic Career Portfolio: Aubrey Bailey – Eighth Place
Graphic Design: Autumn Stock – First Place
Human Resources Management: Stefani Johnson – Honorable Mention
Impromptu Speaking: Claire Timperley – First Place (National Qualifier)
Insurance and Risk Management: Shreeram Chauradia – Fifth Place
Introduction to Business Communication: Claire Timperley – Honorable Mention
Introduction to FBLA: Jonathon Oetken – Honorable Mention
Introduction to Financial Math: Claire Timperley – Second Place
Journalism: Poppy Brown – Honorable Mention
Journalism: Shreeram Chauradia – Honorable Mention
Organizational Leadership: Claire Timperley – Fourth Place
Organizational Leadership: Jada Frank – Seventh Place
Public Policy and Advocacy: Cole Wilkason – Honorable Mention
Sales Presentation: Alexandria Lionberger, Alaina Miller, Isha Valloppilly – Third Place (National Qualifiers)
Securities and Investments: Shreeram Chauradia – Fifth Place (National Qualifier)
Supply Chain Management: Autumn Stock – Second Place (National Qualifier)
UX Design: Claire Timperley – Fourth Place
UX Design: Aubrey Bailey – Honorable Mention

Lincoln Standing Bear

Jacob Shaffer guided Standing Bear students in the school’s inaugural year. He felt the program got off to a successful start. Addie Kahle, Kamryn Wanser and Hailey Schroeder took part in state events for the Grizzlies.

 
“Each of our students (Addie, Hailey and Kamryn) who attended the conference did a great job representing Standing Bear,” Shaffer said. “I was happy with the way these students approached their competitions and gave their best effort and participation in learning about FBLA’s officer election process, presentation events and seminars.”
 
Kahle and Wanser secured the first state awards in program history. Kahle reached the medal stage by finishing eighth in her marketing concepts category, and Wanser pocketed honorable mention recognition in a business concepts contest.

 
Shaffer said all three students created a strong foundation for Standing Bear’s program with their state appearances.
 
“Attending the state conference for the first time gave our students a great look at what FBLA offers,” Shaffer said. “Having Addie place eighth in one of her events and Kamryn earn an honorable mention in one of hers is a testament to their skills and hard work. We’re looking forward to building toward next year!”

Lincoln Standing Bear Results

Introduction to Business Concepts: Kamryn Wanser – Honorable Mention
Introduction to Marketing Concepts: Addison Kahle – Eighth Place
 
LPS offers many career and technical opportunities like FBLA giving students to apply their academic and technical skills to real-life scenarios, gain valuable experience and set themselves for future success. 

To learn more about our career and technical education curriculum and CTE-related activities, visit our website at https://home.lps.org/cte. 
 
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