Students of industry: Chestnut Ridge club molds business leaders

By COLLEEN FREYVOGEL
The Tribune-Democrat

February 15, 2006 01:42 pm

— Melissa McDonald has 150 students whom she considers to be her children.
In addition to her teaching responsibilities, McDonald is an adviser for the Chestnut Ridge Future Business Leaders of America club – the largest extracurricular organization in the district.
McDonald, who teaches English and business courses to students in grades nine through 12, said FBLA, in essence, is her second full-time job. In addition to her students, she advises 150 members of the club.
She said each club member is required to meet with her at least once a week to prepare for business-oriented exams.
Club officers also must meet with her either after or during school.
“I probably spend more time with these kids than I do with my own family,” McDonald said.
“They are my life.”
Schools Superintendent Tom Otis said he often finds McDonald working with students during holiday breaks or on weekends.
“She lives at our school and she does a tremendous job,” Otis said. “She puts in hours you couldn’t possibly believe.”
McDonald said that, in a lot of high school-oriented organizations, leadership roles are just a title.
She said Chestnut Ridge’s FBLA officers have required responsibilities.
An FBLA office is part of McDonald’s classroom.
She said having the office in her classroom allows her to keep everything organized.
“We are very close,” McDonald said. “We couldn’t possibly get the work done without all the time we put into it.”
Kat Lynerd, a senior and president of the Chestnut Ridge club, said McDonald’s support extends beyond the organization.
“She definitely cares about us – not only how we are in FBLA but in other things in school,” Lynerd said.
“She understands when we have other things that are important,” Lynerd said.
McDonald’s classroom is like her second home, Lynerd said.
With 30-page reports to prepare, newsletters and memos to write, Lynerd said she is constantly working in the FBLA office to prepare material for her fellow club members.
Joey Bischof, a senior and FBLA member, said McDonald helps students put things into perspective.
“She is one of the most laid-back people, but she pushes us,” he said.
Kathleen Turner, who retired from the district in 2004, served as the program’s adviser for 18 years.
McDonald was one of Turner’s students before she became a fellow adviser.
“She competed in FBLA in parliamentary procedure as a senior,” Turner said.
“When she competed, her team went to nationals.”
Turner said there is a long history of FBLA at Chestnut Ridge. Though there had been a smaller organization previously, Turner began this chapter of FBLA during the 1985-86 school year, she said.
“When we started up again, we had about 45 students, and it kept getting larger,” she said.
“My students never wanted to settle for second place.”
She said one of the greatest gifts her students gave her was the willingness to learn.
“It is very hard to put into words, but getting students to the point where they are actively seeking you out to learn more is such a high for a teacher,” Turner said. “It is what teaching is all about.
“When you can accomplish that, there just isn’t any greater joy.”
Through FBLA, students gain skills they can use in the future, Turner said.
“Melissa is a terrific motivator,” she said. “She gets down and works with them on every subject.”
Turner said she is proud of McDonald because of the knowledge she has gained.
“I’ve been very fortunate in having great role models,” McDonald said.
McDonald said she has gained knowledge about the organization through Turner and another former adviser, Prudence Harclerode.
McDonald passed the business praxis, a test for teachers, although she did not study business in college.
“Now, she is a business teacher,” Turner said.
“She passed the business praxis class just from working with the kids on every subject.”
Mary Lou Smith joined McDonald as an assistant adviser at the beginning of the school year.
Smith said McDonald is committed to helping students learn the importance of the leadership roles they hold.
She said students learn leadership, team building, organization and responsibility.
“When there are bills to be paid, they are paying them,” Smith said. “They do have to perform.”
Smith said her daughter, a graduate of Chestnut Ridge, learned many things from McDonald and the organization.
“(McDonald) is going to let them go as far as they can go with their abilities, and she is going to push them on and (encourage) them to do their best,” Smith said.
She said her daughter was highly involved for the past four years.
“I watched her grow as a leader,” Smith said. “She had such awesome opportunities.”
McDonald said FBLA offers many learning situations for students.
“What I like about FBLA is there is something for everyone,” McDonald said. “We have everyone from gifted kids to kids in special education in the organization.”
McDonald said that, although the focus of FBLA is business related, she also likes to teach her students the importance of community service.
“There are some schools that only compete,” she said. “We try to balance competition with community service.”
Through bake sales, school dress-down days and other events, the club is able to raise hundreds of dollars a year. That money is then put back into the community.
McDonald said one of the benefits to fund-raising is students are able to purchase groceries for needy families.
Brandon Leonard, a senior, said that although the team holds many fund-raisers, the district also helps financially.
“You also have to be supported by the school board and community,” he said. “I don’t think we could do it without them.”
Brady Schade, also a senior, said the club brings positive attention to the Bedford County school district.
“Our school puts a lot of pride into FBLA,” he said.
Otis said the program puts his school on the map.
“It’s really one of the premiere programs in the district,” he said. “What’s really neat about FBLA in our district is the number of kids that are a part of it, which shows we’re not just focusing on kids who are in specific business courses.”
Otis said the club brings business connections to the students.
“It encourages local businesses to get more involved with local kids,” he said. “It increases the connectivity between our school district and the business community.”

Colleen Freyvogel can be reached at 532-5055 or cfreyvogel@tribdem.com.

Copyright © 1999-2008 cnhi, inc.