Redwood students looking to immerse themselves in the business world can find opportunities, skills and potential scholarships at the Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) club. The FBLA club is led by sophomores President Rohan Mahal and Vice President Arjun Ganatra. Mahal and Ganatra intend to encourage club members to find business opportunities in their community by participating in collaborative activities, as well as inspiring insightful thinking.

According to the official FBLA website, FBLA is the largest student business career organization in the world; their goal is to aid in the transition from school to getting a job.

In addition, they also aim to provide information, sought-after opportunities and scholarships that can be earned through competitions and excellent business ability. They guide students in money management, competent leadership and other life skills.

“We do a lot of different business-based games that promote quick thinking, creative solutions and public speaking. This is all in preparation for the events that will be going on later in the year with our club,” Mahal said.

Each competition caters to a club member’s preference, whether it be taking a test on their knowledge or publicly speaking in front of an audience. More specifically, there are technology creative events, focus objective tests and team or individual presentations.

Redwood’s FBLA club isn’t officially registered with FBLA, which is a nationally recognized organization; however, they are working on getting eligibility to eventually be able to participate in the official FBLA competitions. 

Students can get scholarships based on their performance, mostly at the state-level competitions. In order to prove involvement in the club to scholarship opportunities, students must submit an application, which also helps them build their resume for college. To prepare club members for the events, the FBLA club focuses on building business experience by helping members recognize financial terms using slideshows and Kahoots.

“We primarily make slideshows and talk about what we are doing in the club. It’s about finance, entrepreneurship and making ideas,” Ganatra said.

During meetings, the FBLA club frequently provides food and collaborative discussions with their peers to boost speaking skills and get club members familiar with formal conversations they’ll need to have in the real business world. 

Sophomore club member Aiden Reid, plans to eventually own a law firm.

“We present a lot, and do activities that help with public speaking. Right now, we’re doing an activity to help Redwood be better by talking about issues we see at school,” Reid said.

Redwood’s FBLA club is an immersive way to meet people similarly interested in business and have deep conversations with each of them.

Sophomore club secretary Noah Bergmann, who wishes to pursue a career in business in his future, has plans to fund and develop the club further.

“We’re planning to start bake sales to [earn funds] for kids to go to the competitions,” Bergmann said.

The FBLA club meets every other Tuesday in room 704 at lunch. Students can follow @redwood_fbla_club on Instagram for frequent updates.