Twenty of MMI Preparatory School’s participants placed in the top five of their respective categories at the Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) Virtual Regional competition, nineteen individuals and two teams will advance to the 2021 FBLA State Leadership Conference.

The regional competition was held virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The upcoming State Leadership Conference will be held in Hershey, PA on April 11-13. Mrs. Katherine Zucco, MMI Social Sciences Department Chair, serves as the FBLA advisor. The MMI FBLA team is sponsored by Flashback Cinema.

MMI’s first-place finishers and state qualifiers are: junior Manal Muhammad (Agribusiness); senior Connor Spencer (Business Calculations); junior Jeffrey DeAngelo (Economics); and junior Jessica Zheng (Sales Presentation).

Other qualifiers that placed in the top five are: senior Rachel Betz and junior Ty McDermott (Business Communication); junior Anden Karlick (Business Management); senior Jayden Bonham and junior Caden Pease (Economics); junior Emely Lopez-Rodriguez (Human Resource Management); sophomore Abigail Sparich (Intro to Business Communication); the team of freshman Thomas Horvat and freshman Hayden Schwabe (Intro to Business Presentation); freshman Willa Bartholomew and sophomore Emily Borchick (Intro to Event Planning); sophomore Lex Lispi (Intro to FBLA); sophomore Nathaniel Neidlinger (Intro to Financial Math); sophomore Phoebe Bramley and sophomore Teagan Bonham (Intro to Social Media Strategy); and sophomore Nathan Sissick (Personal Finance).

Additional State Leadership Conference qualifiers are: the team of senior Sandra Abdulrahman, senior Thomas Mayernik, and senior Kennedy Tavaris (Data Analysis).

Future Business Leaders of America-Phi Beta Lambda is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) educational association of student members preparing for careers in business or who are interested in learning more about the free enterprise system. FBLA helps students develop leadership abilities and prepare for entry into, and advancement within, a business or business-related occupation. Members learn how to engage in business enterprise, how to direct the affairs of a group, and how to compete honorably in competitive events. These activities help prepare students to be better employees and better citizens. MMI competes in Region 16, which includes students from schools throughout Luzerne County.

^{Pictured above: Members of MMI’s FBLA club who will advance to the state competition are in the front row: Manal Muhammad, Emely Lopez-Rodriquez, Phoebe Bramley, Emily Borchick, Abigail Sparich, Jessica Zheng, and Mrs. Katherine Zucco, FBLA Advisor.  Second row: Jeffrey DeAngelo, Rachael Betz, Willa Bartholomew, Sandra Abdulrahman, Lex Lispi, Nathan Sissick, Nathaniel Neidlinger, and Kennedy Tavaris. Third row: Teagan Bonham, Thomas Mayernik, Jayden Bonham, Connor Spencer, Hayden Schwabe, and Thomas Horvat. Forth Row: Ty McDermott, Caden Pease, and Anden Karlick.}