University of Nebraska at Kearney business students continue to prove they’re the state’s best.
Lopers took first place in eight events and once again claimed the overall excellence award for four-year institutions during the Nebraska Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) Collegiate State Leadership Conference.
Hosted Sunday and Monday at the Holiday Inn Convention Center in Kearney, the annual conference gives students from colleges and universities across the state an opportunity to network, attend leadership workshops and compete in events testing their business knowledge and skills.
Fourteen members of the UNK FBLA Collegiate chapter participated in the conference, where they earned a school-record 31 top-five finishes. Joseph Hiatt of Spencer was named the Nebraska FBLA Collegiate Member of the Year and Courtney Cox of Alliance received a Who’s Who in Nebraska FBLA Collegiate recognition. Cox also took second place in the finance case competition, third place in foundations of finance and fifth place in marketing concepts.
For the second year in a row, the UNK chapter received the overall excellence award presented to the top four-year institution, along with a gold-level local chapter excellence award.
Other UNK students participating in the conference were Maritza Calmo Martin of Lexington, Oliver Combs of Kearney, Jake Elliott of Burwell, Jackie Kalkwarf of Wilber, Olivia Lawless of Aurora, Trista Marx of Limon, Colorado, Ella O’Neil of Wauneta, Cody Swinarski of St. Paul, Courtney Swisher of Halsey, Brooke Thoendel of Bennington, Megan Wallman of Syracuse and Haley Wiemers of Grand Island.
The top state winners are eligible to compete at the FBLA Collegiate National Leadership Conference scheduled for June 22-25 in Atlanta, Georgia.