Southeastern Illinois College Phi Beta Lambda (PBL) student, Lexie Hopkins of Elizabethtown, along with advisor and SIC business instructor Kelsie Bond-Rodman, travelled to Southern California to join more than 1,800 of America’s best and brightest college students for the PBL National Leadership Conference.
Lexie Hopkins
The conference was held June 24–27 in Anaheim, California. Participants from across the United States attended this exciting conference to enhance their business skills, expand their networks and participate in 60 business and business-related competitive events.
Hopkins, having earned a third place finish in the state PBL competition in April, advanced to national competition to earn a top 15 spot in the job interview event.
“PBL National Leadership Conference was an amazing experience that I will never forget,” said Hopkins. “Being in the job interview competition really gave me a chance to push myself to my best ability and compete with some of the best interviewees out there.”
The award was part of a comprehensive national competitive events program sponsored by Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA)-PBL that recognizes and rewards excellence in a broad range of business and career-related areas.
For many students, the competitive events are the capstone activity of their academic careers. In addition to competitions, students immersed themselves in interactive workshops, visited an information-packed exhibit hall and heard from motivational keynotes on a broad range of business topics.
“I was able to meet so many new people and make friendships I will carry with me for a lifetime,” said Hopkins. “I went to workshops that were very educational and influential, and was able to hear keynote speakers who really made great impressions on me.”
Bond-Rodman urges high school students in FBLA to continue their participation in the collegiate version, PBL at SIC.
“I’m so blessed to have had this opportunity to participate in this amazing organization,” said Hopkins. “PBL has forever impacted my life and gave me skills I will always be able to carry with me.”
For further information on SIC’s business program and PBL, contact Bond-Rodman at 618-252-5400 ext. 2322 or at [email protected].
Future Business Leaders of America-Phi Beta Lambda, Inc., the premier student business organization, is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) education association with a quarter million members and advisers in over 6,500 active middle school, high school, and college chapters worldwide. Its mission is to bring business and education together in a positive working relationship through innovative leadership and career development programs. The association is headquartered in Reston, Virginia, just outside of Washington, D.C. For further information, visit fbla-pbl.org.
