SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Five students from the Phi Beta Lambda (PBL) business club at Missouri State University-West Plains took part in competitions at the Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA)/PBL State Leadership Conference April 7 at Ozarks Technical Community College in Springfield.

Three students, Alyssa Dillon of Tecumseh, Karlie Jones of Alton and Cynthia Peak of Willow Springs, attended the conference with faculty adviser Dasha Russell to compete, while students Emily Strout, Houston, and Kierstan Snider, Dora, competed online.

Three students placed in their events and received medals. They include:

• Peak: Second place, Client Service; third place, Help Desk.

• Snider: Third place, Macroeconomics.

• Dillon: Third place, Microeconomics; fourth place, Accounting Principles.

Because of their placing, Peak, Snider and Dillon are eligible to compete in Client Service, Macroeconomics and Microeconomics, respectively, at the PBL National Leadership Conference June 23-26 in Baltimore, Maryland.

FORMER PBL MEMBERS COMPETE

Two former members of the local PBL chapter who transferred to Missouri State University in Springfield following their graduation last spring placed in competitions for Springfield campus’ PBL chapter at the April 7 event, Russell said.

Dillon Cordel and Derek McGinnis, both of West Plains, placed first in the Emerging Business Issues team event. McGinnis took second place in Contemporary Sports Issues and third place in Statistical Analysis. Cordel placed second in the Business Law team event with another teammate and third in Financial Concepts.

In addition to the competitions, students attended workshops on business and professionalism in the following topics: Time Management, Working on Teams, Elevating Your PBL Chapter, Standing Out as an Applicant, Work-Life Balance, Relax with Yoga, and Communicate Across Generations.

Students from colleges all across Missouri competed at the PBL State Leadership Conference.

The trip and competitions for the five students representing the local PBL chapter were funded by the Missouri State-West Plains Student Government Association (SGA).

For more information about PBL, contact Russell at 417-255-7279 or DashaRussell@MissouriState.edu.