45 MMI students attended this year’s PA Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) State Leadership Conference held in Hershey from April 8 to April 10. The event boasted nearly 5,000 students from 500 different schools, all competing at various events throughout the weekend. Mrs. Katherine Zucco serves as MMI Preparatory School’s FBLA advisor.

Several MMI students received recognition for their hard work in the program and placed in different competitions, including Robert Orbin III ’24 and Nathaniel Neidlinger ’24, 4th place in Network Design; Caylee Herseim ’24, 4th place in Public Speaking; Kiyan Paknezhad ’25, 5th place in Electronic Career Portfolio; Kendall Orozco ’25, 7th place in Help Desk; Diane Arias Tejeda ’24, 9th place in Job Interviews; and Diane Kim ’25, 10th place in Sales Presentations.

Herseim, Orbin and Neidlinger earned placements that qualify them for the FBLA National Leadership Conference to be held in Orlando, Florida from June 29 through July 2.

Additionally, for the first time in MMI FBLA history, student Hayden Schwabe ’25 was elected as the PA FBLA 2024-2025 State President for the Pennsylvania State Chapter. Schwabe previously served a VP at large and was elected to the PA State Reporter position in his junior year. Katherine Zucco, MMI FBLA Advisor said, “Hayden’s hard work and perseverance has paid off. Just a few years ago, the MMI FBLA Chapter did not participate in the PA State Project or the Big 33 Community Service Project and now, our school is getting recognition due the involvement of our students. Hayden has had a big hand in that.”  Hayden will spend the next year traveling across the state to regional and state workshops, conferences, and many other events networking with other members. He will also lead a team of nine state officers to advance the PA FBLA.

MMI Head of School, Theresa Long said, “We are so proud of all of our student participants and know that Hayden Schwabe will represent MMI well as the state president of FBLA!”

The MMI Faculty and Staff would like to congratulate all of the students in their FBLA chapter and kindly thank Flashback Cinema and the Orlando Family Foundation for their generous sponsorships of the club.