Wauconda students win national business awards

A communitywide effort helped some members of a Wauconda High School business club to finish in the top 10 of a national competition that featured 8,000 students.

The Future Business Leaders of America Club (FBLA Club), which ended 41 years ago at Wauconda High, was reactivated just two years ago, officials said. This past year, the club had 148 members, with 23 qualifying for nationals in Texas this month — nearly six times the number who competed the previous year.

Teacher Wendy Mills, who founded the club, attributed the success to local business owners and village officials, like Mayor Mark Knigge, who gave lectures and volunteered to be mock judges for the students.

Mills said the local judges helped prepare students for the big competitions where they are marked down for even the smallest detail.

“It really helps kids with self confidence, helps them understand in the business world there are business ethics,” she said. “Don’t dress a certain way, dock points — that’s the real world.”

Senior Chris Becker took second at nationals in the business law category, which included a one-hour, 100-question test. Originally encouraged to join the club for his economics knowledge, Becker said he had to study for a month to prepare for the business test.

In addition to participating in 15 service projects throughout the school year, a group of three students decided to make their own project. Their American Enterprise Project placed third at nationals.

Alex Schorr, Mandy Rodio and Andrea Lichterman created what they called a financial literacy project. They worked with local banks to creatively teach fifth and eighth graders how to manage their money.

“Some of these things have never been taught to them before. We don’t want them to make the same mistakes everyone makes today,” Rodio said.

The students said the project was such a success, the schools decided to add it into their curriculums next year. Lichtman, 17, said she plans to further develop the project for the FBLA Club in the coming school year and hopes to add more schools and more business involvement.