More than 9,380 of America’s best and brightest high school students traveled to the Peach State to connect with top future business leaders and showcase their talents as they competed for the opportunity to win more than $179,000 in cash awards at the Future Business Leaders of America National Leadership Conference June 29-July 2 in Atlanta, Ga.

Participants from across the United States and abroad attended this exciting conference to enhance their business skills, expand their networks, and participate in more than 65 business and business-related competitive events.

Rising seniors at Parkland High School, Hyunbin Kim, Joshua Yang and Arvind Parthasarathy received national recognition at the FBLA Awards of Excellence Program on July 2.

Kim and Yang placed sixth in the nation in hospitality management and Parthasarathy took fifth place for business calculations.

“They began their journey competing at the local level and placed first to gain a spot at the State Competition in Hershey this past April. At the state competition they placed in the top three to gain a spot at Nationals,” said Lori Kuzmin-O’Neill, Business Teacher and FBLA advisor at Parkland High School. “I am very proud of these boys for putting in the necessary hard work to accomplish the goal they set for themselves last year at the state competition.”

The award was part of a comprehensive national competitive events program sponsored by FBLA-PBL that recognizes and rewards excellence in a broad range of business and career-related areas.

For many students, the competitive events are the capstone activity of their academic careers.

In addition to competitions, students immersed themselves in interactive workshops, visited an information-packed exhibit hall, and heard from motivational speakers on a broad range of business topics.