Montgomery County Community College business students scored the top awards at the online Future Business Leaders of America-Phi Beta Lambda State Leadership Conference and Competition April 9-10.

“They were a small team, but they were big on heart and determination,” said advisor Damon Gray, Finance, Marketing and Management instructor at MCCC. “It was great to see them go head-to-head with students from an Ivy League school in two events and come out on top. This is the first year in my tenure as faculty advisor where our lowest placement is second place.”

Overall, the team collectively won eight first-place awards and two second-place awards. Chapter President Amelia Wildermuth won first place in Computer Concepts and second place in Sports Management and Marketing; Andres Maldonado won first place in Entrepreneurship Concepts and Job Interview; Andrew Bozzelli won first place in Personal Finance and Impromptu Speech; Chapter Vice President Zachary Raugh won first place in Justice Administration and second place in Retail Management; and Kiratika Ariyamitr won first place in Help Desk and Website Design.

“The conference was a great experience, and I’m proud of the accomplishments of our team,” said Wildermuth, noting that all of the team members will compete at the virtual PBL National Leadership Conference June 24-27 against students from all over the country.

At the State Leadership Conference, students attended several virtual events, including competitions for impromptu speaking and interviews, workshops, networking opportunities and the keynote speaker address by Alex Graham, President and CEO of FBLA-PBL and former CEO of the Council for Exceptional Children.

Throughout the spring semester, the students met virtually to prepare to compete in the statewide competition with students from both two- and four-year institutions. They met with Director of Career Services Takisha Mundy who provided tips for writing resumes and application letters, and Director of Educational Effectiveness Tracy Kaiser-Goebel and Communication Instructor Brian Henson, who served as mock judges.

For nationals, Wildermuth said the judges will be stricter and the competition will be more difficult against the top students from across the country. However, they are looking forward to the competition and are continuing to prepare for it.

In addition to the individual state awards, they also won three chapter awards – first place for the Gold Seal Chapter Award and Community Services Project and second place for Local Chapter Award. The Gold Seal Chapter Award is based on a point system, where chapters earn points for participation in competitions, community service projects, events and other activities.

“For our community service project, we had to think outside the box this year since we were not meeting in person,” Wildermuth said. “We decided to write letters of gratitude and appreciation to healthcare workers. Using an online site, Lockdown Letters, the letters were sent to Penn State Hospital, the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.”

For the Local Chapter Award, the members needed to create an annual business report, which describes in detail what the chapter has done for the past year for activities, fundraising, publicity, recruiting and events – all of which were held online.

Despite the year of virtual activities, the chapter members have gained invaluable experience, both professionally and personally.

“For me, it has made me a better leader, improved my communication skills and helped us work well together as a team,” said Wildermuth. “I have grown as an individual through the experiences.”

For more information about Phi Beta Lambda, contact Damon Gray at dgray@mc3.edu.