Freshly back from their first-place win as the FBLA Champion Chapter at the FBLA National Leadership Conference in Orlando, Florida, members of the Pleasant Valley High School Future Business Leaders of America said they noticed other teams noticing them.

“Oh, yeah they know us,” said Sarah McGraw, an incoming senior at PVHS and secretary of FBLA. “I’ve heard whispers,” said Clark Po, also an incoming senior at PVHS and a vice president with FBLA.

The team competed against other teams across the U.S. including Puerto Rico and Department of Defense schools, and internationally against students from China, Costa Rico and Canada.

“Seeing them up on stage was just colossal,” said their adviser Denise Hopely, a business teacher at PVHS. “Every day I look at them and I say I can’t wait to see what they become. We’re supposed to broaden their base of opportunities so they can soar.”

Hopely has been the adviser for PV’s FBLA for eight years. In just the last seven years, her FBLA students have gone on to receive more than $6 million in scholarship money, graduate in the top spots including valedictorian and salutatorian, and accept admittance into universities such as Yale.

Po said when he started in FBLA as a freshman, he didn’t always have the drive to work hard.

“I wasn’t the most hardworking or the most applicative with my skills, but Mrs. Hopely being there and setting up the goal posts and pointing to them for me, helped me grow into the person I am today. To sort of develop a mind that’s keen on finding and solving problems,” he said.

Po said he joined FBLA because he was interested in computer technology as a career. FBLA isn’t just about business. Now, he sees himself working in public policy and going to law school. Po had his own victory at nationals with a fifth-place win public policy and advocacy.

McGraw said, “It’s great having someone who can lift you up and critique at the same time. It ultimately is what molds our projects and us, as well. None of it would have been possible without Mrs. Hopely, really.”

“As the adviser for Pleasant Valley FBLA, winning this Chapter award represents a significant achievement for PVSD, PV-FBLA, and FBLA on both national and international levels,” Hopely said. “These dedicated members demonstrate an unwavering commitment to competition, leveraging the FBLA platform to enhance community service across all schools. Their initiatives aim to boost student confidence, create opportunities, and promote growth in various aspects of life.

“By harnessing the power of FBLA and associated curricula, they are paving the way to realize the American dream through the free enterprise system, positioning the U.S.A. as the gold standard. It’s truly impressive to witness these FBLA students achieve such outstanding success.”

This FBLA chapter has been busy.

The FBLA members held two blood drives for Red Cross, Stuff the Bus food drive for West End Food Pantry, and more. McGraw was part of a team that created PAALLS (People of All Ages Love Letters), and worked with Brookmont Healthcare and Rehabilitation to write letters back and forth with the elderly residents.

McGraw said she and her team including Anayah Accilien and Ashley Palmieri, wanted the residents to know “they are not forgotten by the community.”

“It was a positive project, because we really wanted to bring light to the seniors who often aren’t seen as much as especially in the nursing homes,” McGraw said.

Po undertook a project that created an entrepreneurship challenge for students at the middle school and high school, which he called Made in PV.

“Seeing that success sort of drove me to start the American Enterprise Project and I tailored the Made in PV project to a more theme level,” he said. His theme was products to help people with special needs or disabilities.

A couple of the ideas he received that rose to the top were a land-adaptive wheelchair from the middle school and a device for people who have trouble taking care of their teeth because they have trouble using their arms.

“Ultimately the spirit of entrepreneurship and the spirit of solving problems within your community and giving back to your community through entrepreneurship, that was what we sought to instill in the middle school and high school populous, and I’d say it went pretty well,” Po said.

For next school year, Po said he would like to pursue getting these ideas closer to becoming a reality.

Another big project spearheaded by FBLA students Briana Palmieri and Lillian Erhardt last school year was called Mindset for Motivation. The purpose of the project was to promote mental health wellness in students. One of the goals was to create an environment where students could openly discuss mental health, break stigmas and provide support with resources.

Palmieri and Erhardt joined Po and McGraw at nationals, along with Michaela Clement St. Louis, chapter President Mira Giunta, Katelyn Honadel, Ashley Palmieri, Anayah Accilien, and two students from the middle school’s virtual FBLA chapter Silas Giunta and Leo Philipps.

McGraw said they want to win first place again next year. Winning first place was a goal of the chapter since they won thirds place three years ago.

“I think we’re going to have a little more competition, but we’re still going to do our absolute best and aim for it,” she said.