By BECKY THOMAS
Staff Reporter
It's easy to forget the Future Business Leaders of America club at Cheney High School is only four years old.
In that short time, the club has ballooned to more than 50 members, and a few weeks ago two teams brought national trophies home to Cheney.
Nine Cheney students brought their skills and projects to the national FBLA convention in Orlando, Fla., held June 28-July 1.
The team of Eric Barrio and Michelle Frantilla placed fifth in computer game and simulation programming for a computer game they created themselves. Frantilla did the deisgn side and Barrio did the coding.
CHS FBLA advisor Adam Smith said the students, both seniors, were not only talented but dedicated to their project, which they started in September and spent hundreds of hours to complete.
“She was probably my best graphics person. She literally drew all the graphics,” Smith said. “He basically hand-coded everything.”
The team of Mary Floyd, Ignat Tepp, and Samee Silvieus placed 10th in network design. While Smith was not surprised that Frantilla and Barrio were awarded for their hard work, he said this team had less auspicious beginnings.
Two of the team members joined the club the day before the winter conference, which is a requirement to advance to state and national competitions. They became a team of three when a current club member had a partner bail on their project.
Smith admitted that he never would have bet on this team to compete at nationals. But they qualified, earned the top score in a network design test administered the first day of nationals and advanced to the finals. They missed a key component in a network design problem in the finals and finished 10th overall.
“The amazing part was that this group was thrown together and they ended up finishing tenth in the nation,” Smith said.
The CHS FBLA club has grown steadily since Smith started it four years ago. Last year was the first time a Cheney team qualified for nationals—and placed third in management information systems. This year Cheney had more teams and double the trophies. Smith said he expected things to continue when school resumes this fall.
“The word has spread about what's going on,” he said, adding that students get much more than trophies out of FBLA. They learn to dress and act professionally, interact with and present projects to the professionals who act as judges and perform in high-pressure situations.
Smith said he was proud of the students, who stayed focused on their goals during competition before letting loose at Disney World, Sea World and other attractions.
“There were so many distractions. I mean, it's Orlando,” he said. “But I know that all of my kids gave their best efforts.”
Becky Thomas can be reached at [email protected].
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