Last week, Newton High School formally installed a chapter of Future Business Leaders of America on campus, inducting more than two dozen students into its ranks.
Yet, even before the club was “official” FBLA students had already been busy using their club to create opportunity for themselves and other students by organizing their school’s first College and Career Fair.
High school is a weird place, a weird time. While the classes themselves can be difficult, no formal education can match the unwritten, illogical, ever-changing rules of high school society. I didn’t understand it then, and I won’t pretend to know now.
Clubs and student organizations, however, can help mitigate some of the hormone-induced angst of high school. For me, it was dungeons and dragons and video games, but for 30 students at Newton High School, it can be FBLA.
Beyond escaping the social labyrinth of their peers, FBLA can also provide those students with a leg up. The national organization offers conferences where students can network with business leaders, competitions to hone academic skills, gain recognition and receive awards – handy for brightening up those college applications – and of course, scholarships. Always go for the scholarships!
Club membership, of course, only gives out what students are willing to put in, but I think we can expect to see good things from Newton’s FBLA chapter. The kids are sharp, determined and ready to put in the work, a point proven by the career fair they put together even before becoming an official club. I’m excited to see where they go from here. I’m excited to see them take advantage of a new opportunity.
Thomas Howard is the managing editor of The Newton County Appeal. He can be reached at thoward@newtoncountyappeal.com
