UW College of Business Hosts 500 High School Students, Educators for State FBLA

The University of Wyoming College of Business recently hosted the State Leadership Conference of the Wyoming Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA).

More than 500 Wyoming high school students, their teachers and professional business volunteers gathered for the recent event, which took place in the UW College of Business Building.

In 2018, the UW College of Business developed a partnership with the board of directors of Wyoming FBLA, creating a five-year renewable agreement including financial support and a physical location for the annual State Leadership Conference.

“We believe in the transformational learning experiences that stem from Wyoming students being a part of the FBLA organization,” says Steve Russell, UW College of Business assistant dean. “Our continued partnership signifies not only a commitment to Wyoming FBLA, but a commitment to the high school students across Wyoming that we believe in them and their futures as leaders in the great state of Wyoming.”

The State Leadership Conference is held annually to allow high school students to compete in a number of business-related case and role-play competitions. The winners of each event are invited to represent Wyoming at the National Leadership Conference, held this year in Chicago.

Volunteer businesspeople judged the competitions and provided invaluable feedback to students to help them grow. Industry partnerships are at the core of what the UW College of Business focuses on, and those partnerships enhance the judging pool for Wyoming FBLA each year.

“This was our first in-person conference since the pandemic began and, in many cases, this is one of the first in-person events some of these high school students have been able to take part in throughout their high school experience,” says Andrew Borgialli, Wyoming FBLA state chairperson. “The College of Business team helped us not only put on a top-notch event for our students and educators, but also allowed it to go off without a hitch. We are so thankful for this partnership and look forward to continuing it for years and years to come.”

Participating high schools were:

-- Big Horn High School.

-- Buffalo High School.

-- Burns Senior High School.

-- Campbell County High School, Gillette.

-- Cheyenne Central High School.

-- Cheyenne East High School.

-- Cheyenne South High School.

-- Chugwater High School.

-- Cody High School.

-- Douglas High School.

-- Glenrock High School.

-- Greybull High School.

-- Guernsey-Sunrise High School.

-- Hulett High School.

-- Kaycee High School.

-- Lander Valley High School.

-- Lingle-Fort Laramie High School.

-- Newcastle High School.

-- Niobrara County High School, Lusk.

-- Pine Bluffs High School.

-- Rawlins High School.

-- Riverside High School, Basin.

-- Riverton High School.

-- Rock Springs High School.

-- Rocky Mountain High School, Cowley.

-- Saratoga High School.

-- Sheridan High School.

-- Thunder Basin High School, Gillette.

-- Torrington High School.

-- Upton High School.

-- Wheatland High School.

-- Worland Senior High School.

To learn more about Wyoming FBLA, visit www.wyfbla.org.