Ever imagined yourself sitting in your very own office in a tall black leather chair with your back to a view of the city and a name tag on your desk that reads “Manager” or “CEO”? Newsflash, you can stop dreaming because FBLA is here to help you make your way to the top.

FBLA stands for Future Business Leaders of America, as in the future Steve Jobs and Bill Gates of this nation. FBLA deals with all things business and technology, which are vital to learn for almost any career out there.

Every year, FBLA helps over 230,000 members in the country prepare for careers in business and business-related fields. “It gives you a glimpse of what the future for the business world is going to be like,” said FBLA junior Miguel Laime.

Ms. Benavides, who has been FBLA advisor for about 7 years, enjoys seeing her students and club members succeed in the many areas of business. She says, “I really like that I get to do a lot of fun things with my students and go to a lot of fun places.”  She decided to take on the job as advisor because she was a member of FBLA when she attended Miami High.

President Elizabeth Davila has been a member for 3 years and feels she’s good in the business field. “If you’re interested in business, join FBLA. It will give you the skills necessary to become a leader,” she said.  Although being president comes with its difficulties, she loves that she gets to be close to all her officers and know all the members in the club. “Since I became President, more freshmen and sophomores have joined and have become more active, which makes me relieved to know that the club will be in good hands in the future.”

Every year FBLA members have an opportunity to compete in areas such as accounting, sports management, graphic design, business law, healthcare administration, etc. “Members who qualify for the state competition get to go to Orlando, where the state convention is held every year” said advisor Ms. Benavides.

“When you compete and go to states, you meet different types of people from other schools around Florida. It also gives you future connections that can assist you when going off to college and finding a job,” said sophomore Melanie Prado.

As for the competitions, all the members have different ways of preparing. Senior Raquel Espinoza, who competed in business law, prepares by practicing the multiple choice questions that could appear in the test.

Sophomore Stephanie Lazo, says, “Since I’m competing in computer spreadsheets application, I have to actually do activities related to spreadsheets instead of just answering questions.”

This year’s state competition was held Saturday March 12 in Orlando. Chaperoned by Ms. Benavides and athletic director Mr. Graham, Miami High’s FBLA competitors were taken to SeaWorld as a reward for their accomplishments.

Raquel Espinoza said, “I think that I was most looking forward to the trip to SeaWorld probably because I had never been there and I was pretty excited.”

On the last day of the competition, the top 5 finalists from each category were called out during a ceremony and awarded with medals and trophies and given the opportunity to attend the national competition which, this year, will be held in Atlanta, Georgia during the summer. Unfortunately, no one from our school made it into the top 5. “Next year we will just have to work harder and prepare earlier,” said Ms. Benavides.

Despite not winning States, the members didn’t walk away empty-handed. “I learned a lot more about the business world during this conference,” said freshman and 2019 Class President Amanda Echevarria. “I got a chance to meet several motivational speakers and successful business workers who gave me a taste of the real world thanks to FBLA.”

Senior Alyssa Swisstack, who competed in economics, stated that branching out and networking with people makes her excited for what’s ahead.