Members of Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) at GJHS frequently receive praise for their performances at events, and this year was no different. 

The beginning of April marked the end of the 2026 FBLA competitive events season for GJHS, with a total of 29 students advancing to the state leadership competition, the highest in over eight years. They won two awards and had multiple students in the top ten.

“I’m proud of what everyone’s accomplished this year. We had fun,” said GJHS teacher and FBLA supervisor Suzanne Dunlap.

The state leadership competition was held in Aurora and included objective tests, presentations and role-playing. Some of the notable students from the state competition include GJHS juniors Johnathon DeJesus, Gabriel Gonzalez and Logan Walsh. 

“Our high school did really good, we had a couple of people go to nationals for tests, and then we had one presentation go as well,” said Walsh.

Walsh’s group, consisting of himself, DeJesus, and Gonzalez, did a sales presentation. An impartial judge scores the presentation competitions that groups have to create a “relationship” with to make a sale.

“There are different rubrics for different presentations, and tests are judged unbiased,” said Walsh.

While not all 29 participants from GJHS made it to the finals in San Antonio, they have still been recognized for their performance at the state and regional competitions and will continue their practice for the beginning of the next season.