Three Glenville State College students have taken top places at the West Virginia Phi Beta Lambda (PBL) Leadership Conference. The students are now eligible to travel to the PBL National Leadership Conference that is being held in Atlanta, Georgia in June. PBL is the collegiate counterpart of the Future Business Leaders of America organization found in many high schools.
In competitions ranging from global business to job interviews, the Glenville State College team excelled. Dr. Gary L. Arbogast, co-advisor to the GSC PBL Club, said, “These students worked hard all year and it was no surprise of their accomplishments in the competitions.”
Gracen Samples, a freshman who is majoring in criminal justice and minoring in business, placed first in Job Interview. The Clay, West Virginia native also was elected as the state PBL treasurer. “This marks my sixth year participating in FBLA-PBL and it was exciting to compete at the college level. I was also really happy to run for and be elected to the position of treasurer for the state PBL. I’m pleased to get to represent GSC and the state through this organization,” said Samples.
David Malcomb, a Strange Creek, West Virginia resident, placed first in International Business and Retail Management. “This was my first year competing and it was exciting to place in two things having never done it before,” said Malcomb. The management major is on track to graduate in December 2016.
Nathan Kincaid, who hails from Summersville, West Virginia and is a senior sport management student, placed first in Cyber Security and second in Marketing Concepts. “Being in PBL for three years has definitely helped me build my resume and prepare for my future in business,” he said.
The GSC group was in attendance with students from ten other colleges, universities, and community and technical colleges from around the Mountain State.
Malcomb and Kincaid took online tests before attending the conference to enter their areas of competition. Samples submitted a resume and cover letter for review and participated in a 15 minute interview with judges at the conference for her category.
The students urge other GSC students who are interested in being a part of the premier campus business organization to contact Arbogast and plan to attend a meeting in the fall.