Peru State Students Excel at PBL State Competition

 

Peru, Nebraska – Eleven Peru State College students competed in the 2020-2021 Phi Beta Lambda (PBL) State Leadership Conference. Peru State’s PBL chapter earned 32 top-eight awards including ten first place finishes this year, a chapter award and three additional awards.

Dr. Sheri Grotrian, professor of business and PBL advisor, shared, "While our number of student participants may be lower than previous years due to the pandemic that has somewhat curtailed student engagement, I am extremely proud of those who chose to participate and excel in this statewide competition. As we all have seen in this last year, the virtual work environment has become more prevalent, so this virtual competition provides yet another real-world application for these students to experience."

In each event, the top two places in production or performance events or three places in objective tests are automatically eligible to compete at the National Leadership Conference, which will be held virtually this June. At this time, seven students have automatically qualified for Nationals.

Students may compete in only two events at Nationals, and since Peru State has several students with options, other students may advance in the standings as participants decide which events they will enter.

Chapter Awards

The Peru State College PBL chapter was again recognized with a Gold Level Excellence Award. Gold Level Excellence is the highest level possible and shows that the chapter contributed to regional and national conferences, PBL public relations, community service, and fundraising. Peru State was similarly recognized since 2016.

Individual Events

Students are listed in alphabetical order. An * indicates automatic qualifier in this event.

Stacy Bohlken (Palmer, Neb.)

2^nd place – Contemporary Sports Issues*
8^th place – Sports Management & Marketing

Dawn Castle (Imperial, Neb.)

1^st place – Future Business Executive*
2^nd place – Human Resource Management*
3^rd place – Business Ethics
3^rd place – Help Desk
3^rd place – Impromptu Speaking
5^th place – Job Interview

Azlyn Fendrick (Lincoln, Neb.)
Who’s Who in Nebraska PBL
Elected to be 2021-2022 Nebraska PBL Vice President of Public Relations

Austin Guhde-Egger (Auburn, Neb.)
1^st place – Computer Concepts*
1^st place – Cyber Security*
1^st place – Information Management*
3^rd place – Entrepreneurship Concepts*
8^th place – Marketing Concepts
Who’s Who in Nebraska PBL
Elected to be 2021-2022 Nebraska PBL Vice President of Technology

Tyler Harms (Falls City, Neb.)
2^nd place – Retail Management*
3^rd place – Sports Management & Marketing*
5^th place – Future Business Executive

Noah Kreifels (Auburn, Neb.)
5^th place – Retail Management

Tory Lamkins (Union, Neb.)
5^th place – Management Concepts
8^th place – Business Communications

Kelsi Leininger (Essex, Iowa)
1^st place – Business Ethics*
1^st place – Job Interview*
1^st place – Marketing Concepts*
2^nd place – Personal Finance*

Michael Okpalefe (Mableton, Ga.)
1^st place – Network Design*
1^st place – Project Management*
2^nd place – Business Decision Making*
2^nd place – Cyber Security*

Noah Wynn (Auburn, Neb.)
1^st place – Sports Management & Marketing*
2^nd place – Financial Concepts*
2^nd place – Future Business Executive*
7^th place – Personal Finance

Team Events

Tyler Harms & Noah Wynn
2^nd place – Marketing Analysis & Decision Making*

Sam Wissmann (Falls City, Neb.) also competed this year for Peru State PBL.

Merz Ink was awarded Businessperson of the Year. The business was nominated by Peru State PBL.

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