Missouri Western State University’s Collegiate FBLA (Future Business Leaders of America) recently hosted the State Leadership Conference, welcoming more than 100 students from across the state to campus for a weekend of intense competition.
Students competed in a wide range of categories designed to test professional readiness, including Accounting, Finance, Public Speaking, Business Law, and Supply Chain Management. Among the competitors, eight students from Missouri Western’s Craig School of Business earned six top-four finishes, securing their spots at the National Leadership Conference in Las Vegas this June.
Senior accounting major Aden Monzon and senior business education major Kylie Curtis led the Griffon delegation. The pair took first place in the State of the Chapter Presentation. Individually, Monzon placed second in Sports Management & Marketing, while Curtis took sixth in Marketing. Both were re-elected as Missouri state officers, with Curtis serving as president and Monzon as vice president of FBLA Relations.
Other top performers included Wyatt Fisher and Ashton Roe, who secured first place as a team in Business Ethics. Fisher also placed third in Business Law, and Roe earned second place in Impromptu Speaking. Valencia Chapman had a busy weekend, placing third in Supply Chain Management, fourth in Entrepreneurship, and third in Digital Design and Communication alongside teammate Quynh Nguyen.
Rounding out the MoWest results, James Phalen took fifth place in Finance, and Nicholas Klepees earned fifth in Public Speaking. The event also saw participation from the professional community, as alumnus Seth Hogue (’23) returned to campus to judge competitive events and participate in a networking session at Ricky Dean’s.
Missouri Western’s FBLA chapter continues to focus on leadership, networking, and service. The organization is actively recruiting students from all academic majors, with its next membership meeting scheduled for Tuesday, April 14.
