The Future Business Leaders of America hosted a conference at the university for high school students from New Orleans to Baton Rouge to engage in academic competitions.

At the conference, high schools aimed to qualify for the state conference in Lafayette. The conference ended with an awards presentation and announcement of the qualifying groups in the Student Union Ballroom on Jan. 31.

For Charles Selders Jr., a student at Zachary High School, the conference allowed him to bond with other students in FBLA.

“It’s been good,” stated Selders. “We started off slow because we had to take a lot of tests and stuff, but it started to speed up now. We had a little competition on stage. It’s pretty fun.”

Cason Oglesby, Louisiana state treasurer of FBLA felt satisfied with the outcome of the conference.

“Down here, we have Baton Rouge and New Orleans in this district, so we have a lot of different culture,” shared Oglesby. “We have a lot of different people coming from all around Louisiana to district seven.”

Through FBLA, high school students can learn skills to help prepare them for careers in business.

“We prepare students early for business jobs, how to manage a corporation, how to manage money, especially personal finance starting out going to college,” explained Oglesby. “All these skills will help completely facilitate the transition from school to work that many students lack because obviously school life and work life are very different, so I feel like it introduces the work life early so that students will be more prepared when they actually enter the work force.”