FBLA secured 17 first-place finishes and qualified 55 members for Nationals across 37 events at the State Leadership Conference April 5–6: the chapter’s best finish in history.

Aswini Kake (’25), who will represent Illinois FBLA’s Central Area as one of seven State Vice Presidents next year, said excitement for Nationals is unparalleled after all of the chapter’s group projects placed in the top four at SLC.

“The idea of qualifying for Nationals and competing with the best of the best is absolutely incredible,” Kake said, “because we are not just seeing the 50 states in the U.S. We have competitors that come from other countries like China and some U.S. territories, so it’s incredible to see how you are on the same level.”

Junior Nikitha Philip’s installation as the 2024-2025 State President at SLC also marked the first time a Community student was elected to the position since 2016.

Philip, like many of her fellow chapter members, has been working toward her recent FBLA successes since middle school. After placing at Nationals in seventh and eighth grade, Philip earned first place in Digital Video Production sophomore year—an over 200-competitor category teeming with international talent.

The win paved the way for Philip’s election as a national social media ambassador for FBLA in November, which she said has allowed her to serve over 18,000 members in the past year.

Despite her recent experience serving the organization, Philip said her election win at the Springfield conference was an anomaly: She went straight to the presidential position without first serving on the state board as a Vice President.

“For the past 10 to 15 years,” Philip said, “it’s always been someone who’s been part of the board for two years, so I didn’t even imagine running for the position.”

But after working with FBLA’s national officer during Philip’s servitude as social media ambassador, she found the confidence to campaign at SLC—standing at a booth for five hours to hand out buttons and explain her vision for the state.

When the announcer called her on stage as the new State President at April 6’s award ceremony, Philip said she was happy to share the moment with friends and family: the people who helped in the three- to four-week budgeting and tri-fold-making process.

“My parents were chaperoning just so they could be there for it,” Philip said, “so it was just a really great experience.”

Gallery • 3 Photos

Image courtesy of Nikitha Philip

Philip spent weeks working on her tri-fold: her one opportunity to give voters a visual memory of her campaign.

Although Philip ran unopposed, Community FBLA sponsor Ms. Tara Pendleton said attendees can still abstain from voting—which has happened in the past. But for Pendleton, Philip’s decision to run came with absolutely “no doubt” that she would be a great candidate.

“Nikitha has really made a name for herself in FBLA at the state level, and even at the national level,” Pendleton said. “But also, she’s very welcoming and supportive of other members, and I think that goes a long way when people are deciding to act.”

Philip isn’t the only Community FBLA member whose support has gone a long way this year.

Because the chapter attends no competitions between the area conference in January and State in April, Kake said, the group must rely on each other to improve—rather than the judges’ feedback and competition results that are standard in similar extracurriculars’ seasons.

For the portion of FBLA’s over 70 competitive events that incorporate presentational skills, interpersonal feedback is vital to Community’s judge-less preparation process.

Kake said Community FBLA members frequently volunteer their time to listen to peers’ presentations and ask follow-up questions like real judges in preparation for conferences—a process the club calls “speaking sessions.”

“We try to really imitate what a State Leadership Conference or National Leadership Conference would look like,” Kake said.

Speaking sessions and peer reviews aren’t just additional practice opportunities, though—they’re opportunities to gain insight from the seasoned competitors and national champions within Community’s FBLA chapter.

Since Philip earned the national title in Digital Video Production last year—a feat requiring her to beat the top four competitors in each of the 50 states alongside international entries—she has been an invaluable resource to up-and-coming competition entrants.

“A lot of people from our chapter competed in Digital Video,” Philip said, “and a lot of them are reaching out to me asking ‘How can you help me? What should I do?’ It’s just really inspiring to see how our members are finding different ways to get involved and grow to be their own personal best.”

It’s not always feedback from the most experienced competitors helping FBLA members achieve their personal best, either.

Pendleton said that often, growth is maximized when younger, less knowledgeable members volunteer to give veterans feedback.

“It’s amazing to me when I see younger members struggling with their presentation,” Pendleton said, “not really realizing they’re even struggling, and they come and give feedback to a really strong upperclassman presenter. The next time I see that younger member, their presentation is just so much stronger.”

So strong that the majority of Community’s 17 SLC State Champions this year were sophomores, Philip said.

Harshal Joshi, the first Community sophomore to run for an FBLA state position in 10 years, claimed a State Runner-Up title with his team in Parliamentary Procedure: an event requiring extensive knowledge of Robert’s Rules of Order and FBLA-specific rules, demonstrated through a test and case study presentation.

Although Community saw 17 individuals top the podium for events like these at State, Joshi said, top placements were not a given: Testing events like Parliamentary Procedure include “easily up to 20 people” who have already proven their merit to qualify for State.

“You have to keep in mind that they qualified at their own area conference to get here,” Joshi said, “so that also increases the difficulty.”

While Joshi described the competitive energy surrounding his own testing event—one with top standards for speed and accuracy—as “stressful,” Pendleton said the high stakes surrounding SLC and the end-of-conference award ceremony always motivate the chapter’s first-timers.

“The first time we have younger members attend,” Pendleton said, “I think they expect it to be just like a regular banquet, but having all the lights and the music helps showcase all of the hard work better.”

The high production value at SLC, which Pendleton helps arrange as the State conference coordinator, consistently generates buzz around the next competition opportunity: the National Leadership Conference June 29–July 2.

While this year’s Nationals will see talent—particularly through current state officers and graduating seniors Pranathi Ganti, Shreya Bhatia and Siddhu Bhumpelli—leave the program, members’ investment is going nowhere.

Gallery • 2 Photos

Image courtesy of Nikitha Philip

Members of this year's board passed on their roles to newly-elected board members at the 2024 SLC.

“I do not see anything waning in the next couple years based on ambition,” Pendleton said. “I usually have to rein in ambition because we are a highly ambitious group, and there are only so many hours in a day.”

But FBLA members’ lofty goals never go without concrete plans to achieve them, Pendleton said. Members have to train for their competitions just as an athlete would—just less visibly.

“You walk into a gym, and you can see that a team is practicing,” Pendleton said of athletic teams. “But you don’t necessarily see all of [FBLA’s] hard work because they’re doing it at home.”

With Community consistently sending dozens of students to the National Leadership Conference and populating the Central Area and Illinois boards, Community’s chapter is anything but invisible in the realm of FBLA.

“I do appreciate the fact that they’ve made a name for themselves,” Pendleton said, “and they know they can use that to educate future members that we’re available.”