Two Business Administration students from Montgomery County Community College’s Phi Beta Lambda (PBL) chapter of the Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) were among the winners at the Pennsylvania FBLA 53^rd annual Collegiate State Leadership Conference competition in Harrisburg recently.

Emilio Siguenza, 23, of Jenkintown, placed first in the International Business and Foundations of Economics category competitions. Sloane Harker, 24, of Harleysville, placed second in the Organizational Behavior and Leadership competition and third in the Management Case competition. Hannah Sade, PBL chapter president, also competed.

Siguenza and Harker will next compete at the Collegiate National Leadership Conference in Dallas, Texas, May 31 – June 2.

With these wins, the team from MCCC has now earned a cumulative total of 93 FBLA state and national competition awards over the last six years.

“These victories,” said Phi Beta Lambda advisor and Management Assistant Professor Damon Gray, “are a remarkable testament to the talent and dedication of our students and the support of our academic community.”

For each of his competitions, Siguenza, who is treasurer of PBL, completed a proctored 100-question objective test. The experience was exciting and challenging, he said. Placing first meant he received the highest scores on both tests, and he credits Economics Senior Lecturer Joseph Waldo for his help in preparing for the event.

“It’s all been quite surreal,” Siguenza said. “Winning the competition was valuable because it tested my knowledge in two key areas, economics and international business, both essential to my future career in diplomacy, law, or finance.”

In addition to being treasurer of Phi Beta Lambda, Siguenza is the president of Rotaract Club at MCCC, vice president of leadership in the Alpha Kappa Zeta Chapter of Phi Theta Kappa, the international honor society for two-year colleges; treasurer of the Honors Club; a writer for the student newspaper, “The Montgazette;” a debate club member; and president and founder of La Hacienda at MCCC, a club that fosters cultural pride among Latino students. He was also recently named a member of the All-Pennsylvania Academic Team.

“Scoring highest in the state for both subjects reinforced my confidence and encouraged me to keep this level of expertise, since real-world success will depend heavily on staying knowledgeable in these fields,” he said. “It has been a great experience throughout and I am thankful for the opportunities I have received at Montco.”

For her competitions, Harker presented management case studies before a panel of judges. She said the experience was really rewarding.

“Going into it I was nervous,” she said. “I didn’t know what to expect. I didn’t do FBLA in high school. From what I know, it’s different at the collegiate level. Professor Gray empowered us to make it how we wanted it to be. Working with the team and preparing for competition we did things differently than some clubs would do. I saw it pay off. It felt really good. I put in all this work, and I placed in my events.”

Harker’s experience at MCCC started when she was still in high school taking Dual Enrollment courses. Afterward graduation, she enrolled in a four-year institution but soon left when she realized it wasn’t the experience she wanted.

After taking a few years off to work, she decided to enroll at MCCC in the spring of 2024 as an Environmental Science major, before switching to Business Administration.

“Montco is the best place to do that,” she said about exploring majors.

She said she fell in love with her Business classes at the College and Gray encouraged her to join FBLA. She discovered a passion for the club and the work its members do. The competition in Harrisburg she said allowed her to make connections that may help her in her future career as an accountant.

“The competition itself was an amazing experience,” said Harker, who is the vice president of MCCC’s PBL chapter. “Even outside the event, I was meeting likeminded students from other schools. I made connections, and we’ve been talking since the event about doing joint stuff with other clubs and working with other teams to prepare for future events. To be able to meet and network with professionals in the industry was amazing.”

Harker said she’s excited for the competition in Dallas.

“I’m motivated to be able to show the judges I’ve been working really hard and show the fruits of my labor,” she said. “I am very grateful for opportunities Montco given to me through FBLA.”