Nguyen 1

Andrew Nguyen

White

AP Lit/Comp Per. 3

6 November 2020

UH College Essay

The rush and exhilaration of competing against other students coming from many parts of

the world for FBLA had one of the most major impacts on my life as a sophomore. As a

sophomore, worried and shy, I wanted to join a club, but high school in my mind was like a vast

sea, where I could take my ship and sail to any part of the world to discover something new that I

may be interested in. Many clubs were appealing to me, but in the end I decided to join the

Future Business Leaders of America. When I joined FBLA, they wore suits, had proper

presentation, and showed a high degree of professionalism with whoever they met or spoke to. It

was very shocking as I have never really thought as to what I would get myself into in the couple

of months with FBLA, but it helped me realize that there are specific times and places where one

must show these kinds of attitudes in the future, rather than be casual. I had other mentors who

were already a part of FBLA show me the ropes that would tell me stories and adventures they

had when participating in FBLA along with the new friends and connections all across the world

thanks to FBLA. It was very inspiring to hear all of this, but I was worried about living up to the

expectations that my classmates had for me. Yet despite all my worries and concerns that I had

for my potential in FBLA, they helped me rehearse, practice, and learn new techniques that I

could use in my presentation to speak smoothly to the judges without hesitation or worries in my

mind. They overall helped me grow as a person with the skills they gave to me, the development

of new bonds and stronger trust with my classmates/teammates that I would have never
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expected. It helped change my mindset from previously being worried and concerned about

many things, to instead be hopeful and look forward to the positive things within the memories

and experiences you have made in your life. It helped open my eyes to the world and gave me

more happiness and laughter that I could share with those I hold dear to my heart. It helped me

build up the confidence I had within myself and the trust I had towards my teammates.

Eventually little by little, our first competition had arrived. Packed into the cramped buses we

finally arrived at the conference that will hold the competitions that we will be participating in.

Though dreadful, I was more than determined enough to give it our best shot. We rehearsed

outside the halls, reiterating our speech, plans, and preparations for our presentation. Once our

name had been called, we entered the bright white class room where our voices echoed

throughout the room. “Can I really do it?” I asked myself, but I insisted I could and was able to

ground myself. As the clock ticked, we began our presentation gaining much feedback and

improvements towards our future competitions that we would attend in the future. As we got

progressively better with time, we kept on racking up wins in the competitions we attended!

Having your name called up on stage with a vast audience coming from many regions of

Arizona, applauding your hard work, was thrilling and rewarding! It helped boost my confidence

and bond with my team as it helped us understand each other better than ever before. Although it

had become harder with each competition we faced, at last, we were able to qualify for FBLA

Nationals! Having the opportunity to compete against others across the whole world such as

China and make new connections and friends that I could talk to which was quite exciting! It

helped me grow out of my shell of being nervous and shy, to someone who can try and reach out

to others to meet! It was such a great experience and I hope to continue doing events like these!
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Work, play, sleep, repeat. Getting used to this kind of schedule was the daily norm for me

ever since I entered highschool. Nothing felt new nor interesting, it was as if I was staring

blankly into the hazy tv static, wasting away as I let the days and weeks go by.

Work, play, sleep, repeat.