FBLA Shines at State Competition: 10th Place in Sweepstakes!

This past weekend, April 24th-April 27th, Redwood’s FBLA (Future Business Leaders of America) went down to Anaheim and placed top 10 in Sweepstakes in California.

By: Beth Musto

Last weekend, Redwood’s FBLA went to Anaheim, CA, to compete in State. Overall, they placed 10th place in Sweepstakes, 42 students placed in the top 10 in their sections, and 14 students are going to Nationals during the summer.

Mr. Jacob Avila, who is the FBLA advisor, said, “It was a great event for them to gain and demonstrate leadership skills through their competitive events, workshops, and more. We had 42 students place in the Top 10 in their events. 18 students qualified for the National Leadership Conference this summer. Our chapter also placed 10th place in State Sweepstakes out of 91 schools, which is a huge deal.”

Some students who placed during State are going to nationals in the summer. Seniors who are attending nationals, that would be their last time representing Redwood FBLA. For underclassmen, this might just be the beginning.

FBLA nationals are back in Anaheim, CA, from June 29th to July 2nd.

“Oh, I’m super excited. You know, I went to the Nationals last year, so just continuing that legacy of success for Redwood, and [hopefully] continuing to bring home some national titles is the goal,” said Chloe Seals, ’25, FBLA’s president for the 2024-2025 school year.

Back to last weekend, 42 Redwood Students placed in the top 10 for different events during State.

“It was awesome seeing the students get called up to the stage at the Awards Ceremony at the event. Seeing their smiles on stage and [to] know their hard work paid off was well worth it,” Mr. Avila said.

Tyler Sapasap, ’25, won 1st place in Networking Infrastructures.

“It felt amazing. It was great to compete and represent Redwood FBLA, of course, and it’s always a great experience getting first in the state.
I would say that most importantly, I had fun competing and meeting new people on the way,” Sapasap said.

Alexis Seals, ’27, and her team with Jake Bettencourt, ’25, and Chloe Seals, ’25, won 3rd place for Local Chapter Annual Business Report.

Alexis said, “My team and I placed third in the local chapter of the annual business report. It felt so amazing being on stage and having my whole school cheer for me as we got that award. We’re going to Nationals, so it’s going to be super fun.”

Chloe said, “That was just super exciting because that’s in a chapter event for Redwood and we get a basically showcase all the amazing things that Redwood FBLA has done throughout the year, so it’s great to bring that back to the chapter.”

“And man, it was really amazing because, you know, everyone, all of our members were there in the crowd, and it was just so exciting to see them all. So excited to get 10th,” Bettencourt said.

Grace Hyatt, ’25, along with Ares Avila, ’25, and Jaden Gutierrez, ’25, got 3rd in Digital Video Production.

Hyatt said, “I felt really good. I felt like all the hard work and dedication I put into the project really paid off.”

Gabriel Atienza, ’25, won 2nd in Coding & Programming with some of his Rewood FBLA classmates, and 2nd in Community Service Project.

Atienza said, “I was pretty happy, both of those events; you need to get fourth place to move on to nationals. So, of course, I moved on to nationals. And I thought I’d put in a lot of hard work for both of them, and I did better than last year as well, so I think it was overall pretty successful.”

Mr. Avila was super proud of his students, saying, “The success at the FBLA State Leadership Conference was something that shows how hard our students work each year. I am proud of their dedication to FBLA and cannot wait to see what they do this next year.”

There is always room for improvement. Students may want to change some things in their section to make sure that in the future, they and their projects are better than ever. Or, just getting more students to compete during State.

Alexis said, “Anything I’d want to change would probably be getting more people to go to State. We have a lot of competitors come to our section conference, but many of those people drop out when it comes time to go to State. I think that if I were to change anything, it’d definitely be getting more people to come with us to our state conference.”

But most importantly, students felt like this year for FBLA was amazing. They went to many competitions before State, then State, and now some are going to Nationals.

Seniors who have been in FBLA for their whole high school career, or just started, are having a bittersweet moment, as this was their last time competing at State.

Bettencourt said, “It was pretty sad, you know, I’ve been a part of FBLA for all [of my] four years. It’s pretty exciting, but you know, I’m going to miss it. Mr. Avila and all my members. It’s pretty fun, though.”

Chloe said, “This was definitely a really sentimental conference for me. I also serve as the California State Vice President, representing the central section. 
So being on the State team and just being the last time to be with that team and then also being at the State level, like, this conference meant a lot to me, and it’s probably one of my favorite conferences I’ve ever been to just because of the value that it holds.”

“I felt a little sentimental, I’d say, because this is the last year being with my friends, competing with FBLA, and just having that new experience, [and] competing in a new area,” Sapasap said.

“It was a little bit sad, but it was nice. I think I had a pretty good FBLA career, so I think it was like, bittersweet.
It was nice to see it end well, but also sad to see it end,” Atienza said.

“And [also] being able to represent Redwood one last time at the state level and now take our talents to the national level and be able to represent them, is just means a lot because FA has been such a big part of my journey in high school,” Chloe said.

As the seniors leave to do whatever their hearts desire after high school, Redwood FBLA will always be with them. The fun memories, winning competitions, and getting to grow together as a team.

“I want the seniors to know how much of an honor it has been being their FBLA Adviser and teacher the past four years. You have done a great job taking the Redwood FBLA legacy to the next level. I will miss each of you and can’t wait to see all the great things you do in the future! Best of luck!” said Avila.

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