Level Up in FBLA With the Business Achievement Awards (BAAs)

Kavin Ramasamy, President

The Business Achievement Awards program is built to help high school members grow through four levels. Each level teaches specific skills and asks members to show what they learned through reflections, knowledge checks, and projects. The pathway starts with learning what the organization is and ends with a long-term project that creates real impact.

The first level is the Contributor Award. This level is the starting place for high school members. It introduces members to the organization, and it helps them identify ways to make the most of their experience. Members complete two modules. The first module is Welcome to FBLA, which covers an introduction, history, traditions, and organizational structure. The second module is Making the Most of Your FBLA High School Experience, which covers educational programming, competitive events, and meeting engagement. The work includes interactive lessons, knowledge checks, and short reflections. The level ends with a final activity where members create a recruitment piece that explains the benefits of membership and highlights opportunities and programming. Members can choose a social media campaign, a short video, or an infographic. The level also includes a final reflection and a post-assessment survey. The total time commitment is about two hours.

The second level is the Leader Award. This level introduces leadership concepts needed to succeed as community-minded business leaders in a global economy. It focuses on four main skillsets through four modules. The modules are Inner Leader, Emotional Intelligence, Leading and Influencing, and Working in Teams. Members explore the leader they want to be. You will define personal values and consider how values shape decisions. You can identify their communication style and practice strategies to work with different styles. You will learn about diversity and inclusive language. You also learn the components of emotional intelligence and how emotional intelligence connects to leadership. The level includes activities that help members track triggers and practice self-management skills. It also includes teamwork lessons and practice with S.M.A.R.T. goals. At the end, members create an action plan for at least three leadership goals, and you complete a final reflection and a post-assessment survey. The time commitment is about three to four hours.

The third level is the Advocate Award, and it is presented as a specific course called Understanding Ethics. This course introduces ethics, integrity, and honesty as essential parts of leadership and responsible citizenship. Members learn how to demonstrate honesty and integrity in daily actions. You practice applying ethical principles to decisions. You also learn how trust and honest communication support strong relationships. The course includes five modules. The modules are Rules to Live By, Sincerely Yours, Trust in Me, Make the Honor Roll, and Can We Talk. Each module uses an interactive lesson and then asks members to respond to reflection questions and scenarios. Members also complete knowledge checks throughout the course. The time commitment for this level is about eight hours. The ethics content is supported by the MBA Research and Curriculum Center, and this level connects well to the Business Ethics competitive event because it is closely tied to that curriculum.
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The final level is the Capstone Award, the highest level. It challenges members to take what they learned in FBLA and in the classroom and apply it to a real-world problem. Members design and implement a solution, reflect on the process, and showcase results using design thinking. Members move through four stages: you identify a problem through research and definition. You design a solution through brainstorming, prototyping, testing, and finalizing a plan. You will also make an impact by implementing the project with support from a team and a mentor. Finally, you will get the chance to reflect by documenting results, lessons learned, and personal and professional growth. The member commitment is about eighty hours, and the work must be the member’s own, even if you recruit teammates for support. Members must secure a mentor who is at least 25 years old, not a relative, and not an employer. Advisers approve the proposal and mentor selection and help members stay on track, but they are not expected to run the project. Capstone requires five main submissions, including The Why, a project proposal, a project plan, a project reflection, and a final project presentation. The presentation can be a website, a presentation, a video, or a report up to eight pages. Members who complete the Capstone Award can submit a three-minute summary video and a two-page executive summary for review, with a chance to advance to a final round at the National Leadership Conference.

​This program matters because it turns leadership into action you can prove. It builds skills step by step, and it asks members to practice them in real situations. It starts with understanding the organization and ends with solving a real problem through a sustained project. Through this program, you get the opportunity to create a clear record of growth and become a stronger leader in your school, community, and beyond.

​- Kavin Ramasamy, President