DSU students achieve national recognition at Orlando PBL Conference

Eight DSU students recently attended the Phi Beta Lambda (PBL) National Leadership Conference in Orlando, Florida. The conference took place July 4-7 with members participating in workshops and competing in several business, information technology and professional subject areas against students from PBL chapters at colleges and universities across the country. (A list of the events and those who finished in the top ten can be found at http://www.fbla-pbl.org/wn_2001_nlc_winners.asp?featureid=853.)

Dakota State’s chapter had a record five students earn top honors in their subject area. This combined achievement, with more top finishers than any other South Dakota chapter, contributed significantly to the overall total of 14 top ten finishers for South Dakota at the conference. In order to qualify to compete at the PBL National Leadership Conference, the students previously earned first, second, or third place in competition at the state leadership conference held in Pierre last spring—and the top two earned the right to compete at the national conference (with the third place finisher competing as an alternate). Each state is only allowed to send the top two students in each area to compete. They compete on the basis of proctored, timed, standardized examinations in each content area that are given during the conference, with some subjects including additional requirements. The top ten students in each content area are recognized during the conference’s closing ceremony.

The breadth and strength of Dakota State’s academic programs is apparent by the areas in which the students achieved top honors. Kevin Deilke, a senior from Aberdeen majoring in both Information Systems and Business Administration, placed seventh in Information Management. Carissa Persoon, a junior from Tyler, MN majoring in Business Administration, earned second place in Word Processing.

Junior Marketing and Management major Tracy Steed from Madison placed ninth in the Future Business Teacher competition, which also required an oral interview. Kerry Terwilliger, a senior from Winfred majoring in both Business Management and Marketing, earned tenth place in the Computer Applications competition, which also included a computer-based skills test. And senior Nicholas Volin from Sioux Falls, majoring in both Finance and Marketing, placed third in Marketing. Also in attendance to cheer them on were DSU PBL members Bradley Wirth of Excelsior, MN, Stacey Sherburne of Kadoka, April Fernau of Madison, and DSU PBL faculty co-adviser Dr. Daniel Talley and his wife Aisha Talley.

Dr. Talley summed up the results by noting, “To have more than half of the members who attended the conference achieve national recognition is very impressive. But these students worked hard throughout last year, both with the club and in their studies, and clearly those efforts paid off. These students are truly a credit to the university and the community.”

The conference provided an excellent opportunity for DSU students to showcase their academic abilities and outstanding leadership. Kerry Terwilliger, past president of the business club, described the conference as a great learning experience. “It was awesome to be up on stage in front of over one thousand other college students and see that I was one of the top ten in the nation.”

The workshops focused on increasing chapter members’ participation in PBL, as well as discussing ideas for activities and events the whole club could sponsor. Phi Beta Lambda is the post-secondary division of Future Business Leaders of America, (FBLA-PBL is the high school counterpart to PBL.) FBLA-PBL is a national organization for students in business and information technology and professional fields of study and seeks to promote academic achievement, demonstrate leadership, and encourage service to the community by the students who become members.

While in Florida, the students had the opportunity to visit Sea World, Busch Gardens in Tampa, and Disney World’s Magic Kingdom. They also had the opportunity to meet and network with other PBL members from across the nation. This provided an opportunity to learn about other chapters, share ideas, and plan for the next academic year.

“DSU PBL thanks First American Bank & Trust, East River Electric, VFW and Dakota State University for responding to requests for financial assistance to send these students to the national conference this year,” said Talley. “Their support is gratefully acknowledged and we sincerely appreciate their recognition of the importance of academic success in shaping South Dakota’s future business leaders.”