On November 7th, Mrs. Kristi Studts’s Digital Media and Mr. Vernon Beard’s Digital Photography both went on a field trip and attended the fall conference for the Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA). Where the students had the opportunity to listen to different leaders and speakers, learn business and leadership skills, while also getting the chance to meet other students from all over the country.

Everybody was wearing business casual, and it started off with students heading downtown Phoenix to a convention center, where teachers had to register.

The conference had different workshops/sessions for kids to attend, all held by different people. Frank Kitchen, who was a speaker at the 2025 Fall Conference, shared his story of how he achieved his dreams. He encouraged kids to “live fresh”, and create their own recipe, even if they did not know how to cook. Additionally, he said that he wants kids to follow their dreams and set goals for themselves.

Students attended a session held by Frank Kitchen, where he interacted with each student and had them play a game, which helped them learn skills such as strategy, teamwork, communication, and more! Frank made students break apart from their original groups and told them all to go meet new people. He urges kids to be the best version of themselves and to make a plan. If there is something you want, go after it.

Another session that students attended was with Tom Wellis, who works for Funds2orgs where he discussed how to profit from fundraising. In this session, he taught us all about the reuse ecosystem, how to reduce environmental impact, and how each party should benefit from fundraising. He worked for an organization that not only gives back to the community by collecting shoes (used and new), but the shoes go to people in need and the funds go to local entrepreneurs.

Each session taught students something different; however, they all had one thing in common: setting the ground for future business leaders of America.

After 2 sessions, students had an hour and a half to go get lunch. A complementary lunch ticket was provided with their registration, along with a water bottle for the rest of the day. Options were located inside the convention center, including a pizza shop, a sandwich place, an asian place, as well as a Mexican shop. After students had their meals, many had extra time to either walk around and get to see Phoenix, or to hang around and maybe make some new friends!

Overall, this field trip was a great experience for both classes, and each student said they really enjoyed it and had a lot of fun. Maybe this can be another reason for you to join Digital Media, or Digital Photography.