EHS student wins big at National Leadership Conference

Eastchester High School student Kaya Nolan made a mark on the national stage this summer, as the rising junior took home a second-place finish at the Future Business Leaders of America’s National Leadership Conference, held in Atlanta, GA in late June.

Nolan was one of four EHS FBLA members—including Ava Pollicina, Nanato Kubo and Nomuun Undrakh— to represent the school at the event, which featured thousands of high school and middle schoolaged students from all over the country and abroad.

The FBLA is an organization dedicated to promoting business skills in students, from middle school to college. Each year, the National Leadership Conference offers promising youngsters a chance to learn about innovations in the business world and compete in various fields related to business, computers and social sciences.

Competing in “Advertising”—one of over 70 categories included at the conference— Nolan aced a 100-question multiple choice exam on July 28 that cemented his top two spot in the national ranks. Nolan said that while he was fairly confident he had performed well, it was a thrill to find out how he had done in relation to the rest of the field.

“It was basically a run-through of adver- tising concepts and I felt comfortable with most of the material, but I knew that since this was on a national level, the majority of other students probably felt the same way,” said Nolan. “So, I was pretty shocked to see that I had placed as high as I did.”

EHS FBLA Advisor Lauren Stipo, who accompanied the group to Atlanta, said she was thrilled with Nolan’s performance and by the continued excellence of Eastchester’s business-minded students.

At a statewide leadership conference in April, 18 Eagles accounted for 24 top-four finishes in total.

“Kaya showed a positive work ethic and determination and with over 13,000 students competing at nationals, it requires dedication and fortitude to place 2nd,” said Stipo “We have attended nationals the past two years and both years we had a student place second in their event; FBLA allows students an opportunity to network with other students, build leadership skills and learn what it means to be a professional.

In addition to the competition, Nolan said simply attending the National Leadership Conference was an eye-opening experience. Listening to speakers, collaborating with fellow attendees in workshops and getting a chance to speak with other students from around the country gave him a better sense of the many paths a business career could take.

One workshop he found particularly insightful—How to Succeed Without Trying Too Much—offered easy tips to follow that he believes could pay dividends someday.

“The common rhetoric is if you put in enough effort and passion, you will succeed, and I do think that holds true,” said Nolan. “But this was about smaller details, about how you present yourself, how you conduct yourself around others, and how things like that can really go a long way into impacting your trajectory.”

He also believes that speaking with students whose areas of expertise didn’t align with his own helped to broaden his worldview.

“It was also interesting to see the people with separate interests from mine,” he said. “I met one person who was interested in video game design, which is out of my peripheral, and it was just interesting to hear about what he was designing and how that pertained to the competition.”

Overall, Nolan said he has greatly enjoyed his time as a member of the FBLA and urged any EHS student who might be curious about the world of business to give the group a