“FBLA stands for Future Business Leaders of America. FBLA, and we focus on building leadership skills, giving back to the community and performing in competitions against other school chapters,” said Scott Russell, a senior and president of FBLA at Notre Dame Academy. 

FBLA was started last year in November because of the need and desire for a club that focused on business and financing. NDA use to have an FBLA chapter before Russell’s formation of the new club, but it died out a few years later. 

With Dr. Russell, the senior’s dad, as the moderator, FBLA’s main goal is to “build skills helpful in the post high school world, provide community service in the community and, of course, have fun doing it,” explained Russell. 

“A main focus of Future Business Leaders of America is leadership. We get to go to a lot of leadership conferences. They are really enjoyable,” said Bella Zingler-Hoslet, senior and Vice President of FBLA at NDA. 

FBLA meets with the officer team, which is Russell and Zingler Hoslet along with Noah Sternig- treasurer, Abby VanOoyen- secretary, Lydia Sladek- reporter/historian, and Charles Peterson- parliamentarian, the second Tuesday of every month to plan upcoming events. Then the entire club meets on the second Thursday during lunch. 

Some events for the club include competing at Regional and State Leadership Conferences, hosting a resume-writing session, helping the elderly with technology problems and, most recently, taking a tour of TitleTown Tech. 

“This club really opened my eyes to the world of business and taught me a lot about professionalism,” said Zingler-Hoslet. “It will help you understand how many businesses work in our small Green Bay area and also reach out to the rest of the U.S..”

One of the best things about FBLA is that you can tailor it to what the student enjoys. 

“A large amount of the learning and development comes through the competitions, and there is a competition for every kind personality. What you compete in varies the learning experience and skill development of each person,” Russell said.