A first-year business club, Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) recently won multiple state titles at the Ohio FBLA State Leadership Conference (SLC) for competitive events including Business Financial Plan, E-Business, Public Speaking, Economics, Graphic Design, and more.

Kimaya Mundhe, ‘25, started WHHS’ FBLA chapter at the beginning of this school year and serves as the local chapter president.

“I started FBLA at Walnut because we’ve had clubs about engineering, medicine, programming, [and] more for so long, but we haven’t had a competing business club that gives students an opportunity to network with business professionals and students across the state and country,” Mundhe said.

Arshya Maricar, ‘26, a current member, joined because she hopes to work in business later on in life. She competed in Introduction to Public Speaking at the SLC.

“I feel like there’s not enough representation in this school for business… [and] that was a field that I was particularly interested in and I thought [FBLA] may give me more insight into what this field might look like and how things are done,” Maricar said.

During the first semester, members focused on recruitment, participated in the Stock Market Game challenge, and learned about FBLA’s national programs and conferences. Since then, they’ve worked toward preparing for their competitive events, working through the Business Achievement Awards program, and collecting documentation for Champion+ Chapter distinction at the National Leadership Conference.

“It felt really good [to place second in Business Financial Plan],” Dylan Lefever, ‘24 said. “In some categories, there wasn’t a lot of competition, but in ours there was medium [competition]. There are many categories offered so really anyone can find something they like.”

The conference was held in Columbus and lasted for two days.

“It started with the opening ceremony which was really impressive. We got to meet the state officer team, and they introduced us to a few programs and the theme of this year, which was ‘the sky’s the limit,’” Mundhe said.

After the opening session, members split into leadership breakouts, where they each learned about different aspects of business including securing internships, learning about digital currency, and fundraising.

“My favorite parts were the leadership breakouts, and networking with other FBLA members and officers,” Mundhe said.

Owen Shiver, ‘24, competed in Economics and E-Business. His team’s website for a hotel business won first place. He has helped a friend set up a business, so he was already educated on many of the topics from the breakout sessions.

“It helped people that did not know that much [about business], so for them the whole conference would be perfect,” Shiver said.
Maricar enjoyed the extra help on writing resumes and increasing chapter involvement. She enjoyed the conference as a whole, saying it was well-balanced.

“I was very happy with the people [and] the way it was run. Everybody there [was] pretty timely… and it wasn’t just like, ‘Oh, I have to do this,’ like the other [field trips I’ve gone on], they made sure [there] was a good balance between life and work, and I really liked that balance,” Maricar said.

Apart from the conference itself, the team visited The Ohio State University and went on some team bonding trips to a Japanese market and a local donut shop. The information shared at the conference and at FBLA isn’t just about business, it includes a wide variety of topics that can help students in all careers.

“[They talked about] very helpful and practical stuff that is not just applicable to the business field but any other field, which is actually pretty nice about the field [of business], it’s very encompassing,” Maricar said

Mundhe has learned many leadership and management skills by running FBLA.

“[FBLA] has expanded not only my textbook knowledge of business but has also grown my ability as a leader,” Mundhe said.

Mundhe encourages students to join if they want to get insight into the field of business.

“Business is so broad, there’s so much you can do within it, so if you’re looking to get involved at Walnut and attend conferences, prepare yourself for a career in business, and gain leadership experiences, I would recommend joining FBLA,” Mundhe said.

Chapter members hope to grow by involving themselves in FBLA programs, to help elevate the experience students gain in the club.

“It felt really rewarding to see not only the preparation that I put in studying for my event be recognized, but also to see the success of the chapter as a whole,” Mundhe said. “I’m very thankful to all of our members for believing in this organization and allowing this part of our vision come to life at the State Leadership Conference.”

Disclaimer: Kimaya Mundhe is a member of the Chatterbox staff.