DSU student places first at National FBLA conference
July 1, 2025
Dakota State University students had another successful showing at the national Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) competition, with multiple students reaching the top 10 and Shishir Poudel earning first place in Foundations of Computer Science.
Fourteen of the 15 students who qualified attended the national conference in Dallas, Texas, earlier this month to compete, network, and take part in learning sessions.
“The competition was really intense this year,” said Dr. Dan Talley, professor of economics and statistics, MBA coordinator, and co-advisor of the FBLA Club. “There were 300 more students in attendance this year, so our students were up against over 1,000 of some of their most academically accomplished peers.”
Talley was joined by Dr. Yenling Chang and Dr. Brenda Merkel as supervisors to the students in Texas.
Foundations of computer science covered many of the subjects Poudel studied in his computer science, cybersecurity, and networking classes. To prepare for the competition, he reviewed the topics and his previous coursework.
Poudel competed against about 25 people at nationals and originally did not expect to come in first place. After gathering the top 10 participants, the organizers announced the winners in descending order, with Poudel becoming more surprised the closer the announcer got to first place.
“I felt quite accomplished, like I got what I worked for,” he said. “I did not think I would even make it to the top three.”
In addition to the excitement of earning first place, Poudel enjoyed making new friends from other colleges at the conference and networking.
“At these kinds of events the networking part is very important and helpful for students because it helps you build connections with people from different states,” he explained.
Building connections can provide opportunities years later, whether it’s job openings or collaborating on research and projects, he added.
“It’s amazing that our single chapter achieved as much or more success in competitions than neighboring states with competitors from multiple academic institutions,” Talley said.
DSU FBLA top 10 placements at nationals:
- First place in Foundations of Computer Science: Shishir Poudel
- Third place in Supply Chain Management: Casey Olson
- Third place in International Business: Shelby Mennis
- Fourth place in Foundations of Communications: Kirubel Tefera
- Fifth place in Foundations of Technology: Kirubel Tefera
- Fifth place in Sports Management & Marketing: Casey Olson
- Seventh place in Future Business Facilitator: Garret Leiseth
- 10th place in Foundations of Management: Shelby Mennis