CCHS FBLA building business leaders for today and tomorrow

When Aanya Shah was an eighth grader at Campus Middle School, she joined the Young Business Leaders (YBL) Club and had the opportunity to learn about entrepreneurship and the American enterprise system from students who were members of the Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) chapter at Cherry Creek High School.

“They were all super-nice and super-great at public speaking and that really inspired me because I used to be very shy and very quiet,” recalled Shah, who is now a sophomore at CCHS. “It had a huge impact on me and helped me become a much more confident person and a better speaker.”

Shah is now one of six YBL leaders from the 326-member FBLA chapter. Twice a month, they meet with students from Campus and West Middle School, to share their love and knowledge of all things business.

“We’ve taught them how to create logos and the significance of color theory. We’ve taught them how to network, how to work in the corporate world, how to participate in the workforce,” explained junior Sydney Datillo.

The high school students try to make the meetings fun as well as educational, and plan activities that are both useful and relate to the middle schoolers’ interests.

“The hardest thing is trying to understand what they like and what they’re interested in,” said CCHS freshman Erica Choi. “We want them to be happy while they’re learning.”

That was clearly the case during the Campus YBL meeting on Feb. 20. After learning about social media marketing and influencers at a previous meeting, club members had to present a campaign to sell t-shirts connected to popular celebrities. There was lots of laughter and applause as students touted the worth of their celebrity wear.

After presenting his line of Billie Eilish shirts, eighth grader Arnav Rohilla explained why he’s been a club member for two years.

“The prospect of creating my own business is so intriguing to me, and they’ve taught me so much,” Rohilla said. “I’ve learned how to budget, how the market works, how the U.S. economy works.”

“YBL really helps me dive in and find out if I really want to do finance, and it’s really made me love business and love all the different aspects of it,” added Kavya Alakappan, who’s also in eighth grade. “I’ve learned about different ways of marketing, how businesses work, interest, compound interest, and what businesses do to attract different audiences.”

The CCHS students say being YBL leaders is very rewarding.

“My favorite part of working with the middle schoolers has been seeing everybody’s personality shine through,” freshman Arihant Gupta said. “They all showed an interest in business, and it is exciting to be a part of that.”

However, helping to educate and inspire middle school students is only one aspect of being involved in FBLA. Club members meet monthly to hear from guest speakers and take deeper dives into business topics. Most members also compete, either individually, in pairs, or in small groups, in a variety of national FBLA events, ranging from Accounting, Advertising, and Agribusiness to Securities & Investments, Supply Chain Management, and everything in between.

For example, Erica Choi and her partner, fellow freshman and YBL leader Nika Gridharan, will compete in the Colorado State FBLA competition, April 21-23, at the Gaylord Rockies Convention Center, after earning first place at their district competition in the Visual Design event with their presentation and 3-D model of a farmer’s market stand.

“My event is Intro to Business Presentations, and we’re trying to create financial tips for teenagers. Our presentation centers around budgeting, investing, financial goals, and banking,” Arihant Gupta explained. He took fourth place and will also compete at state.

Being a member of the CCHS FBLA chapter, and leading the Young Business Leaders club, is definitely demanding, but sophomore Hana Gragus, who is the FBLA director of youth education, says it’s even more rewarding.

“In business we learn the importance of connection,” she said. “However, I didn’t believe it until I joined FBLA.

“Through YBL, middle school students have found their own place to be passionate about business together, a community that I never had in sixth grade when I was selling homemade stickers out of my backpack,” Gragus continued. “I have been inspired by the ambition of these students, which is well beyond the ambition of some adults!”

Posted 3/25/2025.