FBLA students to compete at nationals

May 5, 2023

Six DSU students will represent Dakota State University and the state of South Dakota at the national DSU FBLA-Collegiate competition.

Eight participating members qualified for the national conference June 22-25 in Atlanta. However, only six will be attending and competing nationally.

Garret Leiseth, a Business Administration Management ajor from Crooks, S.D., competed in three categories this year, earning first place in all three. This is the first year Leiseth has participated in FBLA, and he was excited to learn he would advance to nationals.

“I was greatly surprised and relieved, especially since this was my first time competing,” Leiseth said.

Justice Forster, who has been involved with FBLA since joining DSU in the fall of 2021, earned first place in two categories and second in a third category. Forster will graduate in December of 2023 with a degree in Business Administration with a finance specialization. He is from Howard, S.D.

“The coursework I have completed thus far has prepared me well for the content of the objective tests,” Forster said. “DSU faculty in the College of Business & Information Systems have provided the foundation for comprehensive knowledge in every subject that they teach, which for the events that I took part in, made preparation a negligible matter.”

Ephrata Yared Feyissa, an international student from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and a double major in Business Administration Management and Marketing, is attending her first national competition after joining FBLA at the beginning of the school year.

Feyissa used her class notes and the FBLA website as resources to prepare for competition. “I would say that my classes here at DSU really helped me in the competition,” she said.

Feyissa, Forster, and Leiseth all expressed excitement to meet others and network at nationals.

“I am happy to have had the opportunity to represent DSU FBLA at the regional level and cannot wait to take the same level of energy and enthusiasm to nationals,” Forster said.

The six attending the national conference are:

• Ephrata Yared Feyissa: 1^st in Microeconomics, 2^nd in Marketing Concepts
• Jacob Stricherz: 1^st in Computer Concepts, 2^nd in Programming Concepts, 2^nd in Website Design
• Cooper Vincent: 1^st in Emerging Business Issues, 4^th in Foundations of Finance, and 2^nd in Retail Management
• Kalani Mangin: 1^st in Marketing Concepts, 1^st in Programming Concepts
• Garret Leiseth: 1^st in Management Concepts, 1^st in Organizational Behavior and Leadership, 1^st in Business Sustainability
• Justice Forster: 1^st in Entrepreneurship Concepts, 1^st in Foundations of Accounting, 2^nd in Future Business Executive