Harrisburg students win awards at national future business leaders competition

MIDDLETOWN, Pa. — The Penn State Harrisburg chapter of Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) recently competed at the 2025 FBLA National Leadership Conference, with nine students placing in the top 10 in competitions and one student earning a national title. 

Thirteen students from Harrisburg’s FBLA chapter, just established three years ago, qualified to compete at the national competition this year through their performance at the state level. 

“I am incredibly proud of all of the students who represented the Penn State Harrisburg chapter at nationals,” said Jody Salsman, lecturer in accounting and FBLA adviser.  “Over the last three years we have more than tripled in both membership and national qualifiers, so it's been a very exciting time for our club.” 

FBLA, billed as the largest business career and technical student organization in the world, helps members from the middle school to college levels prepare for careers in business.  

The National Leadership Conference (NLC), held in Texas May 31 to June 2, drew 1,100 attendees from over 150 different schools across the nation. The event included competitive events that recognize excellence in business- and career-related areas. 

Penn State Harrisburg student Aiden Beiler took first place in the nation in the impromptu speaking category, along with a second-place finish in foundations of entrepreneurship. 

Beiler said competing at nationals was incredibly rewarding. 

“The impromptu speaking event was especially interesting,” he said. “You’re given a random business-related topic and have 10 minutes to prepare, then speak for five minutes. It’s different every time, and you never really know what to expect, which is honestly what makes it so exciting. It really challenges how well you can think on your feet. I was fortunate to feel confident with the topics I was given, and that helped me perform well.” 

Students Gideon Ruch, Lily Sapp and Brenna Snavely won second place in the marketing, sales and communications case competition. 

Tyler Barton, Mike Lemanowicz and Nick Villa took fourth place in the finance case competition. 

Sapp, Anna Granger and Dina Samouel earned 10th place in the business presentation category. 

Sapp, who was president of the chapter for the past two years and graduated in May with a degree in marketing, said that competing at the national level can be nerve wracking, but it’s worth it. She learned more and improved her skills through each competition. 

“I think that doing so well when we're such a young chapter shows what a bright future we have,” she said. “Especially after witnessing our first three NLC conferences, how much we've grown and accomplished brings me so much pride, joy and confidence that we can only go up from here."