Twenty-two students from Marian Catholic High School have qualified for the 2026 Pennsylvania Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) Leadership Conference, scheduled for April 13-15 at the Giant Center in Hershey.
The students earned their spots by finishing in the top three of their respective categories during the recent Region 29 competition, which featured more than 200 students from nine high schools. The regional event was held virtually via Zoom.
According to Jake Sarwar, Pennsylvania FBLA Virtual Chapter Coordinator and Region 29 adviser based in Wilkes-Barre, students begin the school year by exploring more than 70 competitive events. These range from objective tests such as accounting, real estate and journalism to performance-based events including public speaking, impromptu speaking and sales presentation.
Sarwar noted that the virtual chapter is designed to serve students whose schools do not have a traditional FBLA chapter, ensuring they can still participate in Pennsylvania and National FBLA programs. At Marian Catholic, teacher Joseph Sterns serves as the in-school adviser for the students.
First-Place Finishers
Students advancing to the state competition with first-place finishes in their respective categories include:
- Gavin Zola — Accounting
- Madison Biros — Agribusiness
- Minhyuk Kim — Insurance & Risk Management
- Kylie Kisenwether — Introduction to Supply Chain Management
- Jah Bushati, Damian Rodino and Darren Paulino — Sports & Entertainment Management
- Chloe Cannon and Lexi Gelatko — Introduction to Social Media Strategy
- Kali Grochowski and Alena Lombardo — Sales Presentation
- Zoe Johnstone — Business Law
Second-Place Finishers
Qualifying as runners-up were:
- Conner Giannelli — Introduction to FBLA
- Gia DeCosmo — Introduction to Supply Chain Management
- Scarlett Infante, Destiny Melendez and Andreas Merenda — Introduction to Business Presentation
- Isabel Rista and Margaret Zeiler — Sales Presentation
Third-Place Finishers
Earning third-place finishes and advancing to the state competition were:
- Malina Letcher — Advertising
- Griahnny Santos-Urena — Personal Finance
In addition, Teaghan Biros qualified as a member-at-large.
The 2026 Pennsylvania FBLA Leadership Conference is expected to be one of the largest state competitions to date, bringing together top business students from across the commonwealth for three days of competition, networking and leadership development.
Caption:
Marian Catholic High School students who qualified to compete in the 2026 Pennsylvania Future Business Leaders of America Leadership Conference to be held April 13-15 at the Giant Center in Hershey include, front row from left, Minhyuk Kim, Damian Rodino, Alena Lombardo, Malina Letcher, Isabel Rista, Maggie Zeiler and Darren Paulino; second row, Gavin Zola, Kali Grochowski, Zoe Johnstone, Griahnny Santos-Urena, Lexi Gelatko and Chloe Cannon; and third row, Kylie Kisenwether, Gia DeCosmo, Conner Giannelli, Andreas Merenda and Scarlett Infante. Also qualifying were Jah Bushati, Madison Biros, Teaghan Biros and Destiny Melendez. (Photo submitted).