By Tom Ganser
Correspondent
Kate Freese and Anna Gasperetti, 2012 graduates of Whitewater High School, were recognized at a recent Whitewater Unified School District School Board meeting for their achievements in Desktop Publishing.
Freese and Gasperetti placed second at the national competition in late June for Future Business Leaders of America in San Antonio, Texas.
Business education teacher Cynthia Teal, adviser for WHS’s FBLA Chapter #594, said Freeze and Gasperetti had made WHS history by placing higher in the national completion than any prior WHS students.
WHS senior Teegan Robers also attended the conference, graduating from the Institute for Leaders.
Robers currently serves as vice-president for FBLA Region VI in Wisconsin that includes a large portion of southeast Wisconsin.
She will also assume responsibilities as the president of WHS’s FBLA chapter during the 2012-13 school year.
“We are very proud of these young ladies and their outstanding accomplishments. They have represented themselves, their families, our community and WHS very well,” said Doug Parker, principal of WHS, said. “Our FBLA chapter, led by Cindy Teal, has a great history of achievement and success, and this is just another feather in their cap!”
Teal is chairperson for the Department of Career and Technical Education at WHS and has been the FBLA adviser for 18 years.
Prior to that, she served as adviser for an FBLA chapter in Lacrosse.
When Teal became WHS’s FBLA adviser in 1990, she discovered that the chapter had been chartered on Jan. 11, 1952 for “Whitewater City High School,” located on Center Street, and opened in 1928. It was called “City” High School to distinguish it from the high school operated as a “Normal School” by what is now UW-Whitewater.
Teal said there typically are about 50 WHS students in FBLA.
The WHS website, describes FBLA as “a nonprofit professional organization preparing student leaders for business and business-related careers.”
Its mission is “to bring business and education together in a positive working relationship through innovative leadership and career development programs.”
Denise Schulz is the adviser for the UW-Whitewater Zeta Mu Chapter of Phi Beta Lambda, the collegiate level of FBLA.
According to Schulz, “FBLA … provides students with an opportunity to practice what is taught in the classroom. It increases students’ confidence, promotes community service, and provides a transition from high school to post secondary education and/or the workplace.
“Because of their experiences in FBLA, students who pursue post secondary education often have a better idea of the career field they want to pursue and are ready to take on leadership roles.”
WHS’s FBLA members meet on the second Monday of each month.
A significant part of FBLA activities center on competitions at the regional, state and national levels. In the competitions, FBLA students are evaluated on the basis of objective tests, performance test, or reports. More than 50 topics are covered, including traditional business topics like accounting and business communication, as well as topics like entrepreneurship and cyber security.
The WHS FBLA students also take part in local service activities, including a “Giving Tree” project that provides Christmas gifts to two local families, visits to Fairhaven Hearthstone residents around Valentine’s Day, and supporting the March of Dimes.
