Students in North’s Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) club took the first steps towards business careers by placing at nationals June 28 to July 2 in San Antonio, Texas.

At nationals, junior Zack Schaff placed sixth in Personal Finance, and Zhao placed as a finalist in Help Desk, an IT service event.  Zhao was unable to compete further because of a family issue.

“I was disappointed, but I was really proud that I made it to the top as a finalist because I’ve never done that before,” Zhao said.

FBLA students learn how to manage different businesses and prepare themselves for the business world, according to senior Christina Zhao, head of marketing and co-president of FBLA. 

Members compete in different events that can include test portions or performances. Performances often consist of speeches or roleplay of conflicts in the business world. To qualify for nationals, members must place in an event at the State Leadership Conference.

Senior Kayla Rigoli, co-president of North’s FBLA, said that the club’s overall goal is to investigate of the business world.

“Financial literacy is not a core class and a lot of people don’t have any exposure,” she said. “We want to educate students.”

According to Zhao, the club hopes to take more members to nationals in the future because the Massachusetts FBLA is smaller than other states.

“We were very proud that we took more than five people to nationals,” Zhao added. For “some states like Georgia, probably 100 to 200 people go. We might not get up to their level, but we want to get somewhere larger and expand.”

According to Rigoli, the club also wants to participate in more activities, such as field trips to Boston firms, mock Shark Tank games, and a fake stock portfolio competition with a cash prize.

FBLA organizes Entrepreneurship Day at North each year. Some members created a Women in Business club and a Women in Business Day at North.