High school students from throughout the region will converge Thursday, Feb. 3, at Northwest Missouri State University as it hosts the District I Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) Conference.

FBLA members will participate in performance events related to job interviewing, social media, entrepreneurship, business ethics and impromptu speaking, among others. They also will attend leadership workshops.

The conference begins with an opening session at 8:15 a.m. at the Ron Houston Center for the Performing Arts, where Northwest Instructor of Mass Media Adam Bochart will give the keynote address.

Bochart joined the Northwest faculty in 2019 after earning his bachelor’s degree in broadcast production with a video emphasis and master’s degree in instructional technology, both from Northwest. During his time at Northwest, Bochart has created athletic video content that has aired in front of fans at Children’s Mercy Park and Arrowhead Stadium. He also has produced content for the Chicago Cubs’ Triple-A affiliate Iowa Cubs and Major League Soccer’s Sporting Kansas City.

Heidi Daniels, the District I lead chapter adviser from Maysville High School, is organizing the conference. Northwest campus liaisons are Dr. Nancy Zeliff, a professor in the School of Computer Science and Information Systems; Crystal Combs and Cari Cline, instructors in the School of Computer Science and Information Systems; and Joseph Gruber, a senior business education major at Northwest. 

For more information about the conference, contact Cline at 660.562.1103 or ccline@nwmissouri.edu.