Hi RIFBLA! My name is Dina Howland and I am currently a Junior at Lincoln High School. I will be this year's Media Director and Webmaster. As our members head back to school we embark on a brand new FBLA season, so stay up-to-date and follow our socials!

Let's make this FBLA year the best year yet!

​Instagram: ri_fbla

Make sure to check out a little bit more about this year's officers!

Hi FBLA! My name is Ella DiTraglia and I will be serving as the Media Director this year. Right now, I am a senior at East Greenwich High School and I will be going off to college in the fall. I am so excited to be managing the website and socials!

Hello RIFBLA, this is Ari Dulchinos, and what will perhaps be my final post. I've been incredibly honored and grateful to be serving RIFBLA for the past three years. As my final act as webmaster I thought it would be nice to honor the hard work that Dr. Brooks and our outstanding officer team has done this year.

I reached out to our officers to share their final thoughts and reflections about FBLA, as well as where they will be going in the future. Hopefully this will inspire you, the next generation of RIFBLA to see how this organization has positively impacted our lives and helped us achieve our academic and personal goals!

What is the best part about RIFBLA?
Ajiehume: I really enjoyed the team the most. Everyone was so kind and interactive and I’m proud of everything that we were able to achieve!
Sunny: For me, the best part about RI FBLA was the community of business-minded people it fostered. Not only did this community encourage me to pursue my passions, but it also affirmed my love for the business world.
Eric: The local chapters, communities, and outside collaborators that encompass the RIFBLA network.
Holly: The best part about RIFBLA is the amount of commitment between the advisors and students to take advantage of the opportunities that the organization offers, in order to empower students and expand their knowledge on business. The advisors are amazing and truly want all students across local chapters to succeed. Despite being from a small state, the students are so passionate about FBLA which makes being a State Officer so much more meaningful.
Ari: Having the opportunity to work with such talented and capable peers and advisors, which truly prepared me for the business world.

What is one important lesson you have learned from RIFBLA?
​Ajiehume: I learned a lot more about what leadership meant and how to work well in a group. I worked along side Eric and it taught how to be more collaborative and it opened my mind to new ideas!
Sunny: One important lesson I learned from RIFBLA was the importance of soft skills. While it's important to have technical skills, soft skills elevate your ability in any role-- I see them as the hallmark of any good leader.
Eric: FBLA is not just any after school club, it is an amazing place to meet individuals will unending passions for their own unique interests and build up a strong network of life-long friends.
Holly: Through RIFBLA, I learned that nothing is guaranteed to be easy. Our State Officer team has been amazing and did our best to overcome to many obstacles we had no control over. I think it is important to remember that you can do anything you set your mind to, especially if you have a great team to support you!
Ari: RIFBLA offers a lot of opportunities. I have learned that it is important to take full advantage of every opportunity that you are given, you never know what you may learn!

What college are you going to attend?
Ajiehume: Babson College
Sunny: University of Pennsylvania
Eric: Harvard Univeristy
Holly: University of Southern California
Ari: Massachusetts Institute of Technology

What major will you study?
Ajiehume: Concentration in Global Business Management and Environmental Sustainability
Sunny: Management, Finance, and Communications
Eric: Pre-Med Neuroscience & Health Policy
Holly: Business Administration with an Emphasis in International Relations
Ari: Computation and Cognition with a minor in Economics

​What is one future goal/dream you have?
Ajiehume: I would love to just help people in any way I can in whatever line of work I am in. I want to give back to communities that really need a helping hand and give back to the world. I hope of one day owning my own business and become a pioneer of helping our world be more environmentally conscience!
Sunny: I'd love to become the CEO of a start-up or of an established company.
Eric: I hope one day that I will have the ability, resources, and experience to expand the scope of healthcare to a much broader range of underserved communities as well as bridge the gap between health and care.
Holly: While I do not know exactly what career path I would like to go into, my goal is to use college as an avenue to explore the different fields of business. I am not sure if I want to join the corporate side of business or the nonprofit sector, but I know that whatever I chose I want it to be meaningful. My dream is to be happy in my career and able to give back to the world.
Ari: One of my aspirations is to create an accessible and novel technology that assists children from developing countries in learning to read to enhance their quality of education and life.

Who you'd like to thank / final thoughts:
Ajiehume: I’d like to thank Dr. Brooks for appointing me the position. I’ve definitely had a lot of fun being on the team and grew as a leader and that wouldn’t have happened if it wasn’t for him, so thank you Dr. Brooks! I would also like to thank everyone on the team and all we’ve accomplished. You all are very bright and intelligent people and I have no doubt that you guys will be super successful later on in life! Congrats to everyone graduating this year!
Sunny: I'd like to thank my mother and father for always encouraging me, my sister for always challenging me, Mrs. Page, East Greenwich High School, and my peers for guiding me, Dr. Brooks for bringing out the best in me, and FBLA itself for all the lessons and skills that it has provided. I will always be grateful for the wonderful experience that was these past three years in FBLA.
Eric: I owe it to Dr. Brooks and our State Officer team as well as my chapter advisor Ms. Croft and our WHS chapter officer team for showing me the great things we can do when we work together as a team and as a collective rather than individuals. It's truly amazing what can be accomplished when you combine everyone's talents and expertise!
Holly: I’d first like to thank Dr. Brooks for his unconditional love for RIFBLA. His commitment to upholding the organization and putting his all into the RIFBLA students is incomparable. Thank you to Ms. Croft for encouraging me to join FBLA and become a State Officer. Lastly, thank you to my fellow State Officers and all RIFBLA members who continue to inspire me to continue my path in leadership and business. I love you all and so grateful to have been apart of RIFBLA!
Ari: I would like to extend my gratitude to Dr. Brooks, Mr. West, and all of my fellow officers in RIFBLA, Barrington FBLA, and members. I would also like to thank my parents and teachers for supporting my educational endeavors throughout my life. FBLA has been incredibly meaningful to my life and I am eternally grateful and honored to be a member of the community.

WELCOME FROM JESSICA CATERSON…..
As the 2019 - 2020 school year comes to a close, we are forced to say goodbye to this year's membership of Rhode Island FBLA. Unfortunately, the circumstances have not permitted us to formally close this year with a banquet, but I hope that everyone is staying healthy and safe during this crisis, and for those who have been directly affected by COVID-19, you are all in our
thoughts and prayers.
Despite the sudden end to our year together, we were thankfully still able to have an incredible year statewide. Our overall membership included 11 Chapters and we gained one new
chapter in Providence: Dr. Jorge Alvarez High School. We had the opportunity to meet the new adviser and students at the SLC in March. Our State Leadership Conference was extremely successful, even amidst the conflicts due to the coronavirus. Congratulations to all of those who placed in their events and qualified for Nationals! This year, nationals will be held virtually,
allowing more people than ever to join. Stay tuned to the state website for more information.
With the ending of this year comes saying good-bye to our 2019 state officer team. It was such an honor to serve with such an incredible group of individuals, and I wish them all the best in their future endeavors. They will truly be missed!
As we look onwards to next year, I would like to take the opportunity to formally introduce myself as your new state President. My name is Jessica Caterson, and I am a rising
senior at East Greenwich High School. I've been involved in FBLA since my freshman year, and I've previously served two years as RI FBLA's state vice president. I'm very involved with my school, playing varsity volleyball, taking two languages, and participating in several clubs outside of FBLA. This year, I will be joined by Joshua Wang (Vice President) from Barrington HS, Eric Fang (Secretary) and Jason Page (Treasurer) from East Greenwich High School, and Vincent Emery (Membership Chair) from St. Rays. However, our team is not yet complete: two positions are still open:  Reporter/Historian (one position) and Web Assistant. If interested, apply today at www.rifbla.org.
 For the 2020-2021 FBLA membership year, my goals are simple. I hope to continue growing membership, establishing new chapters throughout the state, increasing membership, and expanding state fundraising by looking to use new and innovative ways to raise money for our state chapter. Most importantly, is to increase communication amongst state chapters to become a priority. The best way for us to grow as a state is to ensure that everyone's needs are being met. Communication information for all of the officers are listed with our bios at www.rifbla.org. Feel free to reach out!
Finally, I want to send a huge thank you to all of the chapter advisors, teachers, and students who make RI FBLA possible, and a special shout out to Dr. Brooks for all of the behind the scenes work he does for our organization to be successful. Thank you all, and have a great summer!
Thanks, Jessica

Are you 18 years or older? Do you have a job, or own a business, or volunteer at a nonprofit, or just want to support business education?
Congratulations! You qualify to be a judge or guest speaker at our SLC!
Watch the video below and sign up today. We thank all our volunteers for their contributions.

For our first episode, Our state president Juncheng Quan interviews the Eastern Region Vice President Drew Lojewski. You can watch it here: 

RIFBLA is excited to launch our 2019-2020 major fundraiser for the SLC and NLC: The Ad Campaign.
 
We invite all chapters to participate in this fundraiser, as all proceeds will go towards funding SLC and providing discounted NLC prices to qualifying FBLA members statewide.

Chapter members may download and print this form, and solicit advertisements, which can be purchased by anyone, from businesses, to family members, to chapters themselves! Ads vary in size and will be prominently displayed in the viewbook of our annual awards banquet!

Please submit all ad purchases to your chapter adviser by February 20th.  Chapters are strongly encouraged to meet a minimum quota of $200 worth of sales.

We greatly appreciate your support of RIFBLA!

​Thank you.