Three Cypress Ranch students seniors Bitiah Binoj, Hinal Patel and Akshara Duvvada secured first place in the visual design event at the 2024 Future Business Leaders of America conference held in Orlando, Florida from June 29 to July 2.

The competition presented the challenge to create a holiday storefront promotion for a fictitious store. The three girls chose a gingerbread-themed bakery named “Sweet Stroll.” With their project, sketched by Bitiah Binoj, they advanced to the finals.

“We were so excited to be able to express our creative freedoms,” Duvvada said. “I feel like this was the perfect event for us and our team.”

They placed third at the area level and continued to improve, eventually leading them to first and becoming national champions.

“What really helped us improve was looking at the rubrics and feedback from the judges and our friends. It made our presentation stronger every time,” Patel said. “Sitting in the award ceremony felt so unreal because we didn’t even think we’d make the top 10. But when we saw our name on the screen, we started jumping and screaming. When they were announced as first-place winners, our jaws literally dropped. We were so excited and proud of ourselves.”

“This was my first year in FBLA and I couldn’t have asked for a better experience or outcome.

“This entire trip felt like a dream, and winning on such a big level was just the cherry on top,” Binoj said. “I couldn’t be more proud of the entire team.