This year's conference theme was Step Up to the Challenge! The conference featured competitive events for individuals and teams, leadership training and election of state officers for the upcoming year. The students were accompanied by advisors Andrea Compton and Nancy Graviett, faculty in the Business Technology Program, and Mandi Smith, student activities manager.
Of the 18 members who competed from SCC, 14 placed in their events. The following students from St. Charles Community College were recognized at the awards program:
First place: Sophomores Maria Pizzo (St. Charles, Mo.) and Kevin Gajdos (St. Charles, Mo.), and freshman Joey Gallagher (Weldon Springs, Mo.) in Business Ethics; and sophomore Muhammad Farhan Ullah Babar (St. Louis, Mo.) and freshman Elena Huffman (Wentzville, Mo.) in Desktop Publishing.
Second place: Sophomores Anna Richter (St. Charles, Mo.) and Amanda Messner (Wentzville, Mo.) in Business Law; Babar in Computer Concepts; sophomore Doug Moore (Florissant, Mo.) in Justice Administration; and sophomore Kevin Gajdos (St. Charles, Mo.) in Microeconomics.
Third place: Gallagher in Hospitality Management; Moore in Human Resource Management; and sophomore Arturo Merizalde (O'Fallon, Mo.) in International Business.
Fourth place: Huffman and freshman Hannah Ellerbrook (Lake St. Louis, Mo.) in Business Presentation; and Pizzo in Sales Presentation.
Fifth place: Freshman Maddi Clyne (Foristell, Mo.) in Computer Applications; Freshamn Debo Adegunle (O'Fallon, Mo.) in Contemporary Sports Issues; Adegunle and freshman Thomas Schulte (Wentzville, Mo.) in Marketing Analysis & Decision Making; and freshman George Polette (O'Fallon, Mo.) in Public Speaking.
Nine students qualified for competitions at the PBL National Leadership Conference to be held in Chicago in June: Babar, Gajdos, Gallagher, Huffman, Merizalde, Messner, Moore, Pizzo and Richter. Also competing at the state event were SCC sophomores Emma Kaid (St. Charles, Mo.) and Andrea Lamer (O'Fallon, Mo.) and freshman Chris Haase (O'Fallon, Mo.).
Pizzo was elected as the Missouri PBL State President for 2015-16 and she received the Executive Level CMAP (Career and Membership Achievement Program) Award. The SCC PBL chapter was awarded the Gold Seal Chapter Award of Merit and advisor Andrea Compton was awarded the Missouri FBLA-PBL Advisor of the Year.
Phi Beta Lambda is an education association of postsecondary student members preparing for careers in business. Along with FBLA, PBL is the largest postsecondary business student organization in the world. There are more than 11,000 active members in the United States; Missouri has nearly 500 members in 22 chapters.
St. Charles Community College is a public, comprehensive two-year community college with associate degrees and certificate programs in the arts, business, sciences and career-technical fields. SCC provides workforce training and community-based personal and professional development as well as cultural, recreational and entertainment opportunities. For more information, visit stchas.edu.