Mamaroneck High School students brought home 27 awards after the New York State Leadership Conference (SLC) on April 10, 11 and 12, including the prestigious ‘Chapter of the Year’ award for the second consecutive year.

FBLA is a national organization that teaches students about the business world and allows them to demonstrate their skills in competitions, including SLC. SLC is a convention held every year in New York where high school students from around the state compete in presentations and tests for different categories related to business such as Accounting, Business Management and Entrepreneurship. Over 700 students participated in SLC’s 60 events this year including 50 competitors from the Mamaroneck chapter. 

The ‘Chapter of the Year’ award is given to the school with the most comprehensive scrapbook detailing the chapter’s activity over the past year. MHS FBLA Historians Juliette Patricot (’24) and Catherine D’Arcy (’25) led the creation of the Mamaroneck Scrapbook. D’Arcy noted that the success of the Mamaroneck chapter this year stemmed from the club’s acknowledgment that “[they] are not competing against each other,” but instead “[creating] a collaborative space where all club members are welcome to contribute.” The Mamaroneck chapter attributes much of its overall success to the support of its close-knit community.

Maxwell Robinson (’24), the state Vice President for District 3S and an MHS FBLA member, reflected on FBLA’s hard work over the past year, stating how the club “tr[ies] to host as many events [as possible], get as many people to go to the competitions, and make the scrapbook look as nice as possible.” Recognizing the tremendous motivation and discipline required in producing high-quality work, Mamaroneck students often start working as early as August on their FBLA projects to put their best foot forward in the long-anticipated SLC competition. While FBLA conferences are unpredictable, Robinson “always had faith” that “[Mamaroneck] would do really well.”

In addition to winning ‘Chapter of the Year,’ Mamaroneck won dozens of other awards across various competitions. Walker Olsson (’25), a FBLA member, reflected on his time he gave to preparation for the competition stating that he spent “hours [on] Quizlet and researching materials I thought would help me out” in the competition. Olsson’s commitment paid off as he won awards in both Accounting I and Securities and Investments.

Not only does FBLA give MHS students a chance to compete statewide, but, through these events, it seeks to provide the necessary skills that prepare students for the business world. Olsson acknowledges that students“ [learn] many technical skills” while preparing for their respective competitions. In his case, “this meant learning the basics to advance accounting skills, how to operate a spreadsheet, and knowing how to calculate rates of interest.” 

In addition to their awards, MHS FBLA elected 3 Mamaroneck students into state office this year: Skye Fishman, Alexandra Robinson, and Chloe Blaufeux. Alexandra Robinson (’26) reflects on running as an experience that “required a lot of patience and organization.” In order to run, she had to start preparing months in advance, spending hours developing different aspects of her campaign to present herself sanguinely to her peers. The sophomore stated that “it was hard work,” but “with support from family and friends, it [got done].” She is now serving as the New York State Treasurer. In this new role, she will work with her advisors on distributing and managing funds for New York State FBLA chapters for student activities. 

FBLA member Emma Freeman (’25) reminisced on how, in addition to the academic and practical experience that student participation in FBLA brings, members are also given the opportunity to meet other like-minded teens and enjoy the community-centered atmosphere. She called SLC truly “fun” and noted how the convention featured “food trucks, a talent show and a disco themed dance party!”

Robinson expresses hope for the future of FBLA, mentioning how the “massive four-foot, five-foot trophies” can be “very imposing and draw attention” to the club’s monumental success “prompting underclassmen” to join.