Nine students from College of the Canyon’s Future Business Leaders of America, or FBLA-Phi Beta Lambda (PBL) excelled at the FBLA-PBL California State Business Leadership Conference in competition against students from California’s top four-year universities.

Competing as teams in analysis & decision-making, students analyzed issues in a business case and made recommendations to a panel of judges. The students also competed in knowledge events to demonstrate their mastery of essential business concepts and skills.

When the results were in, it was an impressive showing for the College of the Canyons team: Janeth Avina, Tyler Larson, and Cameron Mandley received 1st Place in the Business Ethics Division;Johnzel Iniba, Tyler Larson, and Dana Levine received 2nd Place in Management Analysis & Decision Making; Janeth Avina and Jonathan Maxwell took 1st Place in Name Tag Graphic Design.

“Our students showed they are able to compete and excel in competition against much larger and better known schools,” FBLA-PBL faculty advisor and Business Professor Bob Maxwell said. “All of the students enjoyed competing and networking with students from across the state, and learning how to create their personal brand in the workshops. It was an inspirational experience.”

In addition to winning second place, current COC chapter president Johnzel Iniba was selected as a state officer on the 2016-2017 California State Officer Team. “We are proud of Johnzel for being selected to help lead California PBL next year,” Maxwell added.

Over 225 students from 14 colleges and universities participated, including UC Berkeley, UC Los Angeles, UC San Diego, UC Riverside, USC, CSU Fullerton, and CSU San Bernardino.

Future Business Leaders of America – Phi Beta Lambda is an international organization of college students preparing for careers in business and business-related fields. The organization’s mission is to bring business and education together in a positive working relationship through innovative leadership and career development programs.