Jose Espinel, a senior at Pope High School in Marietta, has been elected as the national president of the Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) - Phi Beta Lambda.
As FBLA national president, Espinel represents Pope High School of the Cobb County School District and Georgia FBLA as he travels throughout the school year.
To help teachers understand the importance of student voice, Pope principal, Dr. Robert Downs, invited Espinel to speak to staff on their first day of pre-planning, according to the Cobb County School District blog.
With about 250,000 students as members, FBLA is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) education association, preparing students for careers in business and business-related fields.
Students in FBLA participate in leadership, community service, competitive and social events.
The association has four divisions:
- FBLA for high school students;
- FBLA-Middle Level for junior high, middle and intermediate school students;
- Phi Beta Lambda (PBL) for post-secondary students and
- Professional Division for business people, FBLA-PBL alumni, educators and parents who support the goals of the association.
Headquartered in Reston, Virginia, FBLA-PBL is organized on local, state and national levels as the largest business career student organization in the world.
Business teachers, advisers and advisory councils (including school officials, business people and community representatives) guide local chapters.
State advisers and committee members coordinate chapter activities for the national organization.
The FBLA concept was developed in 1937 by Dr. Hamden L. Forkner of Columbia University.
The first high school chapter was chartered in Johnson City, Tennessee in 1942.
In 1958, the first PBL collegiate chapter was chartered in Iowa.
The Professional Division, originally the Alumni Division, began in 1979.
Joining FBLA-PBL in 1994 was the FBLA-Middle Level for students in grades 5 to 9.
FBLA-PBL, Inc. is funded by membership dues, conference fees, corporate contributions and grants.
Through state-based competition at the spring State Leadership Conferences, students compete in events testing their business knowledge and skills.
Top state winners then are eligible to compete for honors at the National Leadership Conference each summer.
