As FBLA club members prepare for an upcoming competition, the addition of Junior Achievement teacher volunteers is being considered as a possible strategy to further business skills. Junior Achievement is a volunteer program with a goal of fostering entrepreneurship and financial literacy skills in students from kindergarten to 12th grade.

“It will encourage students to start thinking about their financial futures and make wise banking decisions,” said junior Joanna LaTorre, president of FBLA.

In this program, volunteer teachers with an interest in educating students on the business world visit different schools and share their tips and knowledge. However, the program is not limited to teachers, as other entrepreneurs are welcome as well.

“Sometimes they are parents, business owners, or people who have different jobs,” LaTorre said. “For example, my mom works in the business field and her boss encouraged her to sign up. I’m hoping to get a banking program teacher or an entrepreneur to come in.”

In addition to looking into Junior Achievement, club members have been using various other techniques to ready themselves for competition.

“We have something called weekly progress where they have to show that they’ve been working on their event,” LaTorre said. “There are also online sources we use such as the official FBLA website that provides resources such as reference study guides, judge scoring rubrics and guidelines.”

The competition will be a new experience for many, as the club has been founded this year. Junior Helen McSorley looks forward to the competition as she prepares.

“I am very excited to participate in the FBLA competition,” McSorley said. “I have the opportunity to work with one of my friends on something you don’t typically learn about in school. Plus it is the first year of the club, so it is cool to be part of the start of something this significant.”

By Elizabeth Marrin