Angela Lala
January Update
Hi New York State FBLA!! January has been a big month for us in terms of SLC planning as we just had our January Joint Meeting. At JJM the state officer team made decisions regarding the new logo and theme for the upcoming year, what workshops will be held, and the theme of the dance at SLC. If you want to see what big plans we have, make sure to fill out the Intent to Attend SLC form on the website!! It’s due February 15!! You know what else is due on February 15? Applications for the NYS FBLA Honor Society which I high recommend applying for. It’s a great way to boost your accolades, but also to show off your dedication and hard work as a member. My favorite part of JJM, other than seeing my wonderful team again, had to be doing the gift exchange and making content for the social media. If you don’t follow us on Instagram go do that now 🫵 at newyorkfbla, and go like the quality reels we made. Currently, I am preparing for District 3S’s SDM where I will be presenting two workshops, and I am looking forward to seeing my 3S besties. Still sending out luck to everyone receiving college decisions right now, and just remember, the most stressful part of the year is over. Feel free to message me with questions, concerns, or new ideas for our Instagram at evp@nysfbla.org.
December Update
Hello New York State FBLA!! We are officially in the new year and deadlines are coming up so make sure that you fill out the forms on the NYS website if you would like to apply for Honor Society, submit an application for the Humanitarian award, or submit a POW challenge. This month my studio and I performed both our Winter Recital and production of The Nutcracker, so I no longer have 11 hour Saturday practices, which I’m very happy about. I am glad to say that I will stop putting the little snippets in each update complaining about college applications, because I am now committed to college!!! It has been a huge weight lifted off of my shoulders and I am so thankful that I do not have to undergo writing anymore supplements. For any other members who committed to schools early I would like to say congratulations, your hard work paid off, and for anyone still waiting for decisions I wish you the best of luck. The State Officers have all been keeping in contact with one another planning for JJM at the end of
January, and I am so excited to see my state officer team again in person. At JJM the state officers usually plan and coordinate parts of the upcoming SLC, and make decisions pertaining to many aspects of the conference. I can already tell that 2025 is going to be a great year for FBLA and our members, and I can’t wait to see the success that NYS FBLA members achieve this year!! If you have any questions, or want to complain about the college application process to someone, email me at evp@nysfbla.org.
November Update
Happy November New York State FBLA!!!! It feels like the year has gone past so quickly and I hope you have all been doing well and hopefully starting your POW challenges. All of the submission links are on the NYS website and I highly suggest you encourage your chapters to complete them. In the spirit of the upcoming holiday season, my high school’s chapter has gotten involved with Operation Christmas Child, an organization that enlists people to fill a shoebox with gifts directed toward a certain demographic. My friend and I filled our shoebox with gifts for a 13 year old girl, and we’re so glad that we could bring someone happiness and cheer as the holidays come closer. Getting your chapter involved with an outside charity during this holiday season is a great way for your chapter to participate in festive activities while giving back to your community. Aside from all of my FBLA related endeavors this month, a main focal point of November for me definitely has to be rehearsing for my dance studio’s production of The Nutcracker. It’s a lot of hard work, but it truly is my favorite season of the year and I can’t wait to see all of our hard work come together for our performance. The weekend rehearsals have been stealing up my Saturdays though so once this is over I’ll be able to spend more quality time with friends and family, and hopefully with some snowy weather. Finally, and most importantly, I hope you all had a happy Thanksgiving that was filled with your favorite food, whether it’s the turkey, mashed potatoes, or cranberry sauce I guess… Stay warm this season and feel free to ask me any questions, or ask for an enthusiastic retelling of The Nutcracker at evp@nysfbla.org.
October Update
Hi New York State FBLA! I hope everyone’s October has been super spooky and scary (or not if you’re not into that), and you’ve been able to enjoy the beautiful foliage changing all around New York State. Halloween is one of my favorite seasons of the year and I always make an attempt to do as many Halloweeney scary things throughout the month. Two of my top contenders have been going to an insane haunted house experience in Ulster Park, and watching Terrifier 3 the day it premiered. For those considering watching the movie, it was vile and horrific and I thoroughly enjoyed it, but it is definitely not for those who don’t like scary movies.
My school’s chapter has been doing so much in October, from raising over $3,000 for Support Connections in the beginning of the month, to collecting multiple bags of shoes to donate to the less fortunate. I’m so proud of all of the fantastic members of my chapter and I can’t wait to see the great work they continue to do throughout the year. We also had the pleasure of attending the District 3S FDM at the end of the month, and I can confidently say that it was a success! I had the honor of helping run the “How to be a State Officer” and “POW” workshop in which I got to meet and answer the questions of passionate members across our district. If you were in attendance and I didn’t get to answer a question, or you couldn’t reach out, please feel free to email me now at evp@nysfbla.org!!🎃�
September Update
Hello New York State FBLA!! I hope your transitions back into this school year have been smooth and stress free, I know it’s been great for all of our state officers. Starting off our year strong we have many Fall District Meetings coming up soon, with the first being District 10’s on the 4th. FDMs are a great way to meet the members and state officers in your district, and give you valuable workshop experiences and memories, so i highly recommend you find out when your District is holding one and go attend! My school’s FBLA chapter has been picking up steam very quickly, with us volunteering at a Support Connections Walk the first weekend of October, starting off on our POW challenges for the year, and preparing for our district’s FDM at the end of October. For any members who want to level up and run for a state leadership position, applications are officially open on our website, and I highly recommend applying for a position. You never know what could happen!
There is a light at the end of the tunnel in that I am almost finished with my CommonApp process, and to any seniors out there no matter how far along you are in your applications, I wish you the best of luck from the bottom of my heart. With the burden of applications starting to weigh off, I’m taking the time to enjoy my last year of high school and appreciate everything before I graduate. If you are overwhelmed or struggling with the overload of responsibilities that the beginning of the school year brings, just know that it isn’t permanent, so be glad that it won’t last forever, but really enjoy it before it goes. If you need help with state officer applications, or advice on how to complete your CommonApp without going crazy, you’re more than welcome to email me at evp@nysfbla.org! 😊
August Update
Hi New York State FBLA!! The 2024-2025 membership year for FBLA has officially started, and I am looking forward to getting back in the groove of FBLA! The state officer team had its first official meeting this month, and I am happy to say that we have exciting plans and goals that are unfolding. Some more exciting news, the chapter officer GroupMes are almost completed and the links will be posted at the beginning of the school year. I can’t wait to be able to bring together and communicate with all of the chapter officers across New York State. Make sure to keep an eye out on our Instagram as the links will be posted there! If you haven’t read the Welcome Express yet, I highly suggest that you do. It is an absolute masterpiece (thanks to our fabulous reporter), and not only are the graphics amazing, but it’s full of community service ideas, inspirational quotes, and interesting articles (I submitted one, and you should totally read it).
Other than keeping in touch with the officers and preparing for the upcoming FBLA year, I’ve been working on the highlight of everyone’s senior year: college applications!!🥳 To all of the FBLA seniors I feel your pain in this tumultuous process, but just know that there is a light at the end of the tunnel, and when you finish you will never have to stress them again. I’ve been balancing out this work by spending time with my friends, especially the older ones who abandoned me for college (💔). I’ve also been busy with pre-season since I joined my school’s tennis team, so don’t be surprised if yall see me in the U.S. Open next year. My email is always open at evp@nysfbla.org for anything from questions about the POW this year, to asking me for amazing tennis advice!!
July Update
Hello again New York State!! My name is Angela Lala, and I’m really looking forward to serving another term as a state officer, especially as your EVP this year. I’ve always loved the month July, not only because it’s my birthday month, but also because July is always an eventful month for me. Before SOT I went to the beach constantly, explored new places with my friends, and had a fun shopping-intensive birthday celebration. One of the first things I did at SOT was present a slideshow on how to run FDMs and SDMs, and I’m confident that all of our conferences will be run smoothly by our SVPs this year. At training all of the state officers spent tireless hours working on POW challenges, while bonding with one another and making memories. I’m sure we will be receiving amazing submissions for the numerous creative challenges we will be putting out soon. My favorite memory from training overall had to have been going kayaking at the lake near the training center. It was a great time, and Jasmitha and I most definitely had the fastest kayak.
As your EVP I’m already working on creating GroupMes to bring together chapter officers in various positions together across the state. I am excited to eventually meet so many chapter officers from all around New York State. The details will be out very soon on our Instagram account, which you should all go follow @newyorkfbla! I also have the privilege of working with all of the SVPs, and I get to hear about, and/or attend, upcoming FDMs. This upcoming year I hope to meet as many new members as possible, connect people from across the state, and watch New York FBLA grow. If you have any questions for me please feel more than welcome to email me at evp@nysfbla.org!