Fallston High School’s Future Business Leaders of America chapter had a strong showing at the 2026 Maryland FBLA State Leadership Conference, which took place March 11-13 in Ocean City. More than 2,100 students from over 60 schools attended, making it the biggest Maryland FBLA conference ever, and Fallston students showed up and showed out.
The conference brings together students from all over the state to compete for different business-related events. Some events include tests, some are speeches, and others involve staged scenarios where students act out real business situations in front of judges to test their ability to make business decisions. It’s a chance for students to show what they know, meet new people, build connections, and get a feel for different career paths.
Fallston earned several top placements this year. Logan Weiss placed first in Agribusiness. Tyler Mangold placed second in both Introductuction to Retail and Merchandising as well as Hospitality and Event Management. Liam Delaney placed third in Computer Problem Solving. Because they finished in the top four, Logan, Tyler, and Liam all qualified for the National Leadership Conference in San Antonio this summer.
Fallston also had strong finishes from other competitors. Brynn Seymour placed fifth in Impromptu Speaking, and Anna Newman placed sixth in Journalism. Chelsea Killough, Regan Mclaughlin, Piper Barrett, Grant Hearron, and Noah Mclaughlin also represented Fallston proudly at the conference.
Each student chose an event that matched their interests or future plans, here’s an inside look at 4 students who competed. Piper Barrett competed in the Journalism objective test, which included 100 questions in 50 minutes. She said that she chose journalism because she hopes to study topics relating to journalism, communications, or sports management in college. The test covered grammar rules, famous journalists, and important laws related to the field.
Tyler Mangold competed in two events. Introduction to Retail and Merchandise was a multiple-choice test, while Hospitality and Event Management involved a staged scenario. He said he chose retail because it seemed like a good place to start, and hospitality because he wants to go into hotel management someday.
Brynn Seymour competed in Impromptu Speaking. She had 20 minutes to prepare a seven-minute speech on a surprise topic. To get ready, she practiced giving speeches about random everyday things like traffic, weather, or even TikToks. She said the hardest part was not knowing what topic she would get until the last minute.
Liam Delaney competed in Computer Problem solving, which covers the systems and protocols behind computers and the internet. He chose the event because he plans to major in Computer Engineering and enjoys working with technology.
Preparing for states looked different for everyone. Tyler used practice tests and scenarios, even though good study resources for FBLA can be hard to find; and Liam reviewed his event information sheet and did practice questions in the two weeks leading up to the conference.
Many students said they were proud of the experience itself. Piper said, “she was proud she decided to go, since it was her first year in FBLA, and she was nervous at first.” Brynn was proud of placing fifth and seeing her friends succeed. And Liam stated that, “he enjoyed meeting students from all over Maryland and hearing about their different experiences.”
Brynn added that “the conferences help you learn a lot about yourself,” and Liam even mentioned that “FBLA is a valuable way to make connections and understand how business works on different levels.” Students continued to encourage others to join FBLA next year. Piper stated that “it’s a great club for anyone who isn’t sure what they want to study in college because it exposes you to so many different career paths.” Tyler joked that it’s fun to do with friends and a great academic reason to go to Ocean City.
Overall, Fallston’s FBLA chapter had a memorable and successful weekend in Ocean City. The students brought home awards, made new connections, and represented the school well at the biggest state conference yet.
