The Dedication and Impact of Palmerton's FBLA Advisors

The Future Business Leaders of America is the biggest high school business club in the country. In the Palmerton Area High School, it is advised by Kerry Palumbo and Jen Danzeisen. Both advisors are teachers at the school: Mrs. Palumbo is an English teacher and Ms. Danzeisen is a technology teacher. The Palmerton FBLA has a total of 118 students in it, and 82 of these students have qualified for the state competition. During the State Leadership Conference (SLC) students travel to Hershey, Pennsylvania and compete in business events against other students in the state. They also attend workshops about various business skills, and watch presentation events from other students. Some members choose to take a testing event, while others choose to do public speaking events. This club is extremely beneficial for those looking to go into the business world, states qualifier Jalin Burns says, “my event is Hospitality and Event Management, I want to go into the Hotel and Lodging Industry, so my FBLA event aligns perfectly with my career aspirations!”

With a total of 82 students attending the SLC, these times have been stressful for everyone.

Many students have been frantically trying to prepare for their events. Meanwhile the advisors have been helping students and preparing for their own things. SLC attendee, Taylor Lyon says, “my event is Human Resource Management, it consists of a test about dealing with the relationships between people and protection acts for people who might otherwise be discriminated against. To study, I have been using Quizlet and flashcards about my test.” Preparing for these events can be very time consuming and difficult for the students, but luckily, the advisors are always there to assist them. “States is the highlight of the FBLA season, it's where all the hard work that students put in pays off. It’s my favorite thing in the whole world to just go and watch our students who are doing performance events step out of their comfort zone and just knock it out of the park,” says Mrs. Palumbo, “that’s my favorite part of FBLA.” Along with many other aspects of FBLA, Mrs. Palumbo primarily helps the students doing performance events practice. She works with them during enrichment periods, after school, or over zoom. She always does her best to ensure students are well prepared and confident for their event.

With 82 attendees for the conference, the advisors face significant financial management responsibilities. Collecting the dues owed by students can also be very difficult, Ms. Danizsen says, “I’m tracking people down every day, and that can be very stressful for me, on top of what I’m doing every day. And then trying to figure out who owes what, and printing out letters, it’s very time consuming.” When handling the money for FBLA, the advisors like to divide their duties since it is such a big responsibility. “She [Mrs. Palumbo] will do all the fundraisers and collect money for the fundraisers, and I will collect dues, money for workshops and for states,” says Ms. Danzeisen. This may all seem like an extremely difficult job, also considering that the advisors are given $50,000 for FBLA from the school, but luckily, they have found a system. Ms. Danzisen remarks, “last year, our treasurer, Ethan Jones, ended up setting up a spreadsheet for us where he came up with some formulas and calculated everything, and luckily, I know how to work that as well.” While this may seem stressful, the SLC is even more stressful for the everyone. FBLA states is a trip that all the state's competitors, advisors, and chaperones go on. They leave early Sunday morning and spend the day at Hershey Park. The next day, they spend most of the day at the Hershey Lodge, where the students attend workshops or do presentation events. That night, they attend an opening ceremony, where the leaders of FBLA talk about the benefits of being in the club. Jalin Burns says, “it's so crazy to see all of the other students that attend the state competition, there are just so many, we fill almost all of the GIANT stadium!” The next day is very similar to the previous with students attending workshops and giving presentations, but that night, there is the awards ceremony. There students will find out whether they qualified for the national competition in June. Taylor Lyon adds, “it's really nerve wracking when your event pops up and you wait to see your name.” On Wednesday, the students leave the hotel, spend a few hours at the nearby outlets, and get home in time for the end of the school day. This time is very exciting and stressful for the students, but also for the advisors. When asked what it is like to be an advisor during the state competition, Mrs Palumbo answered, “it's very hectic and a little bit stressful, it's almost like you're on 24/7 during the three days of states, I get done it, and I crash. So, it's really stressful. It’s chaotic. Because the other thing is, FBLA, the state office, always throws duties at you, and sometimes you don't get a specific assigned duty, they just put you, like, on call. You might find out an hour before that you need to sit in for a judge that did not show up, or you might have to do some other type of duty that you didn't anticipate doing. You have a plan, and that plan can change and that's a little stressful.” When all the students are attending the workshops, the advisors are working. Mrs. Palumbo adds, “over the years I’ve been a doorkeeper, which means that I’m the person who lets students come in and out of a room. I have been a runner for kids that are in sequester, so basically, I make sure that no one is doing anything that gives them an unfair advantage in the sequester. Sometimes I’m a timekeeper.” With all these duties, the advisors are very busy during the days at states. “There are also specific workshops that advisors are required to attend. So there is always something going on that's either directly related to our jobs as advisers or directly related to watching over students. Downtime is almost nonexistent,” comments Mrs. Palumbo.

Although this is a stressful time for everyone, the advisors still enjoy themselves at states. “My favorite thing about states,” says Ms. Danzeisen, “is probably watching everyone perform, and then the award ceremony when I see them [the students] win or unexpectedly win, and see their names up on the board, that’s my favorite part” All of the work from the advisors does not go unnoticed by the students. Taylor Lyon says, “they are very helpful during the test taking process because you can ask them questions before, and they are open and willing to help you and if you need any advice you can go to the and they will give it to you whether it's about FBLA or not. They are the glue that keeps the club together.” Any FBLA member that you ask will have some positive remarks about their advisors. It is evident that the advisors always try their hardest to be there for all the students no matter what they need. They make themselves available to try and help everyone. “The FBLA advisors are absolutely amazing! They know exactly what they are talking about and how to help you prepare for pretty much every event. In my first year of FBLA, they both reviewed my speech, went over it with me multiple times, gave me feedback, and even helped me film it. They have so many people to help yet they give their all to get to every one of us,” remarks Jalin Burns. Mrs. Palumbo and Ms. Danzeisen are exceptional advisors that any student would be happy to have. They are helpful and dedicated. They make sure that everyone is content. Whether or not you are happy or sad, you can always count on them to be there for you. These advisors are the reason that a small school like PHS, has 82 out of 118 members attending the SLC and placing well at the regional competition.