Rowan-Cabarrus Community College

SALISBURY — Three Rowan-Cabarrus Community College students joined more than 1,600 of America’s best and brightest in Anaheim, California, at the Phi Beta Lambda National Leadership Conference.

Students showcased their talents as future business leaders and vied for the opportunity to win awards.

Participants from universities and community colleges across the country attended the conference to enhance their business skills, expand their networks, and participate in more than 55 business and business-related competitions. For students to qualify for the national competition, they had to be rated first, second or third at the North Carolina level.

“Once again, Rowan-Cabarrus students have excelled at the PBL National Conference. Rowan-Cabarrus has been competing at national conferences for 10 years, and our students amaze the faculty and staff every year,” said Chad Nichols, accounting instructor and adviser for the Rowan-Cabarrus chapter.

Attending Rowan-Cabarrus students were Angie Robinson, Johnathan Furr and Angelica Mills, accompanied by Nichols. All three students took first place at the North Carolina Phi Beta Lambda Conference in Charlotte and then earned eighth place at the conference in California in the Business Decision Making category.

Robinson is the current Rowan-Cabarrus chapter president and presides at the monthly meeting of the group.

“Competitors in these events come from not only community colleges but major universities as well,” said Martha Cranford, co-adviser for the chapter. “Some universities have more on-campus students than the entire population of Salisbury, and this speaks volumes about the knowledge and education provided at Rowan-Cabarrus Community College.”

​​​The awards were sponsored by Future Business Leaders of America-Phi Beta Lambda, which recognizes and rewards excellence in a broad range of business and career fields.

In addition to the competitions, students participated in educational workshops, visited an information-packed exhibit hall, and attended motivational keynotes on a broad range of business topics.

“We are proud of each student that qualified in the North Carolina PBL competition that went on to compete in Anaheim, California. We congratulate them all. It is quite an accomplishment,” said Rowan-Cabarrus President Carol S. Spalding.

Recently, the college hosted the regional tip-off meeting with Catawba College, Livingstone College and Stanly Community College. Surrounding chapters are gearing up for the state leadership conference in April and the national conference in June.

Future Business Leaders of America-Phi Beta Lambda, the largest and oldest student business organization, is a nonprofit education association with a quarter-million members and advisers in more than 6,500 middle school, high school, and college chapters worldwide. Its mission is to bring business and education together in a positive working relationship through innovative leadership and career development programs.

“We have award-winning students at Rowan-Cabarrus, and we look forward to celebrating many more in the future,” said Michael Quillen, vice president of academic programs.

For more information about Rowan-Cabarrus Community College, visit www.rccc.edu or call 704-216-7222.