Business students have best showing at Phi Beta Lambda conference in years

Members of Campbell University’s chapter of the Phi Beta Lambda student business association who competed at the State Leadership Conference and qualified for the national conference. Pictured, front row, left to right: Emilia Roy, Courtney Sugg, Danielle Barnes, and Rahul Amalean; and back row, left to right: Andrew Ryan Hall, Brandon K. Hudson, Andrew Strobo, Hunter Outlaw, and Nicholas Hudson. Not pictured: Kyle Sheridan, Jaime Zea Sandoval, and faculty advisor Edward Fubara.

BUIES CREEK — Campbell University’s chapter of the Phi Beta Lambda, a student business association, placed in 15 individual and team events at the 60th State Leadership Conference in Charlotte April 10-12, including taking top honors in five of the events and qualifying to compete at the national conference in 13 of them.

It was the best showing Campbell students have had at the state conference in at least six years, said Brandon K. Hudson, a fifth-year 3/2 trust and wealth management student in the Lundy-Fetterman School of Business and president of Campbell’s chapter of Phi Beta Lambda (PBL).

“This year’s delegates continue a long line of winners, not only representing the chapter but the Lundy-Fetterman School of Business and Campbell University,” Hudson said. “We have a strong chapter.”

Campbell’s chapter of the PBL, a nonprofit education association for students preparing for careers in business and business-related fields, is now in its 66th year. Edward Fubara, an assistant professor of business at Campbell, serves as its faculty advisor.

He and 10 students from Campbell’s main campus and one student from the Research Triangle Park campus attended this year’s PBL state conference, held at the Charlotte-University Hilton Hotel. The 11 students competed in a total of 15 events, and all placed high enough in 13 categories to advance to PBL’s National Leadership Conference, which will be held June 29-July 2 in Nashville, Tenn.

Hudson, Andrew Ryan Hall and Nicholas Hudson — all trust and wealth management majors based on main campus — placed first in both the Financial Analysis and Decision Making and the Financial Services team events. In the individual events, accounting major Jaime Zea Sandoval, of the RTP campus, took top honors in Financial Concepts, while business administration major Hunter Outlaw won the Impromptu Speaking event and trust and wealth management major Danielle Barnes the Personal Finance category.

Advancing to nationals, too, are trust and wealth management majors Rahul Amalean, Emilia Roy and Kyle Sheridan as well as accounting major Courtney Sugg and economics major Andrew Strobo.

Also during the state conference, Hall was elected to serve as vice president of the 2014-15 NCPBL Central Region, and Brandon Hudson was inducted into the “Who’s Who In North Carolina Phi Beta Lambda,” which is awarded to senior members of school chapters who have demonstrated high involvement in local, state and national PBL activities.

The chapter’s results in the events at the state conference are listed below:

Team events

1st place

Financial Analysis and Decision Making: Brandon K. Hudson, Andrew Ryan Hall and Nicholas Hudson

Financial Services: Brandon K. Hudson, Andrew Ryan Hall and Nicholas Hudson

2nd place

Business Decision Making: Hunter Outlaw and Andrew Strobo

Business Presentation: Rahul Amalean, Emilia Roy and Courtney Sugg

Individual Events

1st place

Financial Concepts: Jaime Zea Sandoval

Impromptu Speaking: Hunter Outlaw

Personal Finance: Danielle Barnes

2nd place

Macroeconomics: Andrew Strobo

3rd place

Justice Administration: Danielle Barnes

Marketing Concepts: Kyle Sheridan

Microeconomics: Kyle Sheridan

Retail Management: Jaime Zea Sandoval

Statistical Analysis: Emilia Roy

5th place

Project Management: Rahul Amalean

6th place

Accounting Principles: Courtney Sugg