Lauren Ayers - Washington Future Business Leaders of America ...

How FBLA impacted my life – Reflections during my senior
year in high school
Lauren Ayers
January 21, 2008
As a freshman in high school, I lacked confidence and dreaded working in groups. I did
not know how to lead others, and I knew very little about the business world. Although I was
intelligent and motivated, I lacked direction and purpose in my life. Initially, I joined FBLA
because my brother was involved, and since I looked up to him, I thought I should join, too. At
first, I didn’t know much about the organization, but, as I became more involved in our high
school chapter’s fundraisers and community service projects, and after I attended a number of
conferences, something about FBLA made me want to become more involved. My local
chapter’s officers and adviser inspired me to get involved in projects, and they encouraged me to
run for office. The people of Washington FBLA and Stanwood FBLA have had a major impact
on my life because they helped me gain leadership experience and encouraged me to try things,
even though I was unsure of myself.
By planning events with our chapter, such as the Tolo Dance Fundraiser and the Teddy
Bear Drive service event, I’ve learned to organize projects and manage people. I’ve learned to
be an effective team player, and I’ve come to truly enjoy working with others. I’ve improved my
communication skills by practicing for public speaking events, and I’ve learned how to interview
successfully by being coached by FBLA advisers and judges. Now, I have the confidence to put
on workshops, both planned and impromptu, all by myself. I’ve gained knowledge about the
business world by studying for competitions, and I now enjoy discussing business issues with
working professionals.
FBLA has been instrumental in giving me opportunities to challenge my mind and
abilities in ways that were not available in the traditional classroom setting. This organization
provided me with the tools and opportunities to grow, and it offered me mentors and leaders to
whom I could look for guidance. As a senior in high school, I now have a passion for every
aspect of the business world, and I actively search out ways to learn more. FBLA has taught me
to set high goals for myself, and I’ve learned that hard work is the key to success. Through
competitions and officer positions, I’ve been able to distinguish myself on a national level. This
gave me a competitive edge when applying for colleges, scholarships, and jobs. Now, I feel
inspired to help younger students learn about the business world and gain leadership experience,
since I have seen how involvement in organizations like FBLA can completely change a teenager
into a leader. I can honestly say that I would not be who I am today without FBLA.
Essay on an experience that changed who I am
There are some experiences that one can never forget. One of my experiences in FBLA has
forever changed my character and perspective.
It was an evening in mid-April of my junior year. Standing in a hallway outside a locked
door, I nervously crumpled a piece of paper in my hands. I knew that in just a few moments, the
door would open, and I would face either the greatest disappointment or the happiest moment in
my life. Inside that room, the Washington Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA)
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Executive Committee was deciding who would be the next State Parliamentarian. As the minutes
dragged by, my mind wandered to a memory from the past year.
I spent my sophomore year Spring Break preparing to campaign for Washington FBLA
Public Relations Officer. After hours of folding brochures, creating a display board, and
practicing my speech, I felt prepared for my campaign and excited for the upcoming conference.
I was nervous, of course, since I’d never before spoken in front of 2,000 people or been grilled
about my qualifications by some of the most talented students in Washington; however, I
wouldn’t let my fears prevent me from achieving my goals.
When it came time for the conference, I raced from speaking to caucusing and from
campaigning to competing. My involvement left me no time to worry about the outcome of the
election – that is, until the final day of the conference when they announced the winners. My
fellow FBLA members and I waited outside the Closing Session room for what seemed like
centuries. Due to parliamentary procedure rules relating to the requirement of a quorum, it took
the voting delegates over four ballots to decide the winners. With four qualified candidates for
Public Relations Officer, I knew it would be a tough race. Then came the defining moment. The
doors were opened, and the voting delegates rushed out, whispering the results to their chapter
members. I searched anxiously for our chapter’s voting delegates, wanting to know the results.
To my disappointment, I found myself at Closing Session sitting not with the newly
elected officers in the front, but with my high school chapter in the back. It pained me to watch
the installation ceremony for those thirteen lucky new officers, since I knew I wasn’t one of them.
A lump mounted in my throat as I fought back the tears that stung my eyes. I’d invested all my
time and energy in FBLA, and at that moment, my dream of leading and serving Washington
FBLA was yanked away.
One year later, the memory of that conference still blazed in my mind. This time, though,
I knew that whatever the outcome, I’d be smiling in the end. From my sophomore year, I learned
that even though I lost, other opportunities awaited me just around the corner. When they
opened that door this time, I would stand tall and gladly accept my fate, knowing that whatever
the outcome, I would benefit.
And so it went that at Closing Session, I found myself holding back tears, once again –
but this time, they were tears of joy, since I joined the new State Officer Team on stage. It was
then, as I glanced back toward where I sat the year before after my defeat, that I realized I
wouldn’t have wanted things to end up any other way. After losing the election my sophomore
year, I redirected my efforts toward helping my high school FBLA chapter and growing as an
individual. I learned to be a team player when planning our dance fundraiser, and I learned
how to motivate students to give back to the community in our teddy bear drive. FBLA game me
the chance to develop my confidence through public speaking opportunities, and it showed me
through competitive events that knowledge is truly at our fingertips. Most importantly, I realized
that failures, as well as successes, make us who we are and strengthen our desire to succeed.
As I sat through the rest of the Closing Session, I glanced over at the other new officers
sitting beside me. We knew that in the upcoming year, we’d be stressed by deadlines, and we’d
be overloaded with duties and responsibilities. We knew we’d spend immeasurable amounts of
time working on projects, and we’d give more than we ever knew we could. We knew it would be
difficult for us to say our goodbyes at the end of the next year. However, we also knew we’d
share some of the most rewarding and empowering experiences of our lives.
Now, I strive to help other students understand these things that I came to know through
my experiences in FBLA. I hope to show others that perseverance is the key to success, and that
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success is measured not by how much one achieves, but rather how much one grows. Nelson
Henderson once said, “The true meaning of life is to plant tress, under whose shade you do not
plan to sit.” Through FBLA, my dream of “planting trees” and giving back to the organization
came true for me, even though I took a different path than I originally desired. Whether it’s
spending my weekend in meetings planning the State FBLA Conference or staying late after
school to help a student practice for FBLA competitions, I know I can make a difference in the
lives of others.
Reflections on FBLA as a college student
Looking back at my high school career, FBLA was what had the greatest positive impact
upon my life during those four years. Growing up in a small town in northwest Washington, not
much kept me excited about school. While I earned high grades and excelled in my classes, I
always felt out of place. Middle school was a difficult time for me; I didn’t excel at sports, the
one extracurricular activity offered to us, and I struggled to find my niche. I thought about
home-schooling, changing schools, or graduating early, but in the end decided to wait it out to
see how my first year of high school went. So, during my freshman year, I decided to try a
couple student organizations, hoping that this would one of which was Future Business Leaders
of America. It was in this organization that I found my home.
In FBLA, I found what was previously lacking in my life. FBLA gave me the
opportunity to expand beyond the narrow focus of the small town I grew up in. It helped me
learn about different parts of the country when I traveled for FBLA conferences, and it helped
me learn how to work with individuals who had backgrounds very different than mine.
Throughout the four years of my membership in FBLA, I visited Dallas and Spokane, Denver
and Anaheim, Nashville and Orlando. Seeing these places helped me learn how to quickly adapt
to new cultures and situations, and it made me want to explore the rest of the world. It gave me
something school-related to be excited about, and it helped me overcome the feeling of
displacement and dissatisfaction I had otherwise felt.
FBLA taught me about the American enterprise system and gave me the tools to develop
myself into a true future business leader. With the guidance and support of local and state
advisers, I was able to achieve things I never dreamed of beforehand. It also taught me valuable
lessons about time management, teamwork, organization, and communication. FBLA gave me
the opportunity to develop many skills which now prove to be important assets as I begin taking
challenging college courses in business subjects.
Through FBLA, I was given the opportunity to network with students across the nation
like me. To this day, my closest friends are still those who I met through Future Business
Leaders of America. When I come home from college breaks, I make a point of meeting up with
my fellow former state officer team members, and I know that in the future, they will be an
important part of my professional network as we enter the business world.
Now, as a sophomore business major at the University of Southern California, I truly see
how FBLA helped sow the seeds of my success. Having gone to a public school where few
Advanced Placement classes were offered, and having little access to enrichment opportunities
like my peers who attended highly-ranked private schools, my experiences in FBLA were the
one thing that distinguished me from the rest of the well-qualified 4.0-GPA, private-school, high-
SAT-score students who also applied to USC. Without having been involved in FBLA, I might
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not have been accepted to USC and might not have had the opportunities I have now in college.
During my freshman year, I was accepted into the business honors program where I was able to
spend a week in Shanghai with my classmates visiting various companies and learning about
international business. Why was I chosen out of thousands of students to participate in this
program Because the experiences and opportunities FBLA gave me made me stand out. My
experiences in FBLA were the gateway to many of the organizations I am currently involved in
on campus; without having had these experiences in FBLA, I can’t imagine how different my life
would have been.
FBLA was the stepping-stone that opened up countless doors to me in my college career
that I otherwise wouldn’t have had. As I begin looking for internships, I still refer to many of
my experiences in FBLA as having taught me important things about working in the business
environment. I hope that in the future I can give back to FBLA and help others benefit from it as
I have benefited.
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