Competing can be pretty intimidating, and the added pressure of belonging to one of the best teams in the State can make it feel more overwhelming. However, Salt Lake Community College Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) and Distributive Education Clubs of America (DECA) did not only participate in the State competition, but they also performed exceptionally well, bringing back over 60 awards both, individual and teams.
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| Calista (Cali) Bourdos President of FBLA club |
Calista (Cali) Bourdos, FBLA club president and Genesis Ruiz, DECA club president, are familiar with national competitions. Their experience participating in previous competitions has given them the knowledge they can share with their team to empower and guide them during the competitions. "I am so proud of everyone," says Cali about her team's performance in the State competition. "They all worked extremely hard and their work paid off by placing first, second and third place in the State."
Cali's greatest accomplishment of being the FBLA club president is the opportunity to obtain and share her acquired leadership skills and empower her teammates. Genesis, who shares similar sentiment as Cali, regarding the opportunity to be president of the DECA club, enjoys the chance of having the platform to grow and evolve not only as a person but as a professional.
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| Genesis Ruiz President of DECA club |
"My leadership skills are to lead by being authentic. I want my colleagues to feel comfortable and present their best version during competitions because they have earned their place. They deserve to be there," says Genesis, "I want everyone to remember that yes, we are competing, but those will be our colleagues, so they need to remember to network as we can learn from our competition."
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| Nyasha Paradzai DECA and FBLA member |
"Going to these competitions with my team is amazing as we get to figure out our strengths and weaknesses," says Nyasha Paradzai, who was first introduced to the clubs by Professor Daysi Hernandez. Nyasha won first place in public speaking in the State competition, "[Nyasha] was not prepared for it; he did not even know the prompt until minutes before he stepped foot on the State," says Stephanie Mahina, who also placed first in FBLA and DECA State competition.
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| Stephanie Mahina DECA and FBLA member |
Despite the constant competition against different schools and each other, the sense of community and belonging in the FBLA and DECA clubs are stronger than anything else. In and out of competition, the club members support one another and want to see each other succeed. "Yes, they are my competition, but I still want to see them succeed. I will continue to aim for first place, and I will continue to cheer for them," says Stephanie.
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| Daysi Hernandez, Associate Professor of Business and DECA/FBLA Advisor |
As for the advisors, Jen Klenk and Daysi Hernandez, whose eyes light up when talking about FBLA and DECA, they are both incredibly proud of the team that they have. "It is an emotion that I cannot put into words," says Daysi. "That pride one feels when in national competitions where they continue to say, Utah and SLCC, for the top places is overwhelming." Jen echos the sentiment by adding, "I could not be more proud of these students. They have earned to compete in nationals with all their hard work."
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| Jen Klenk, Associate Professor of Marketing and DECA/FBLA Advisor |
DECA and FBLA students will compete in Orlando, Florida followed by Atlanta, Georgia. The SLCC community continues to support, applaud and celebrate all the hard work these two clubs do to exalt the SLCC name in state, national and international competitions.
Go Bruins!
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