The document is the first issue of "The Bay Breeze", the official newsletter of Bay Section FBLA. It introduces the Bay Section officer team for the upcoming year and provides recaps of the previous year's activities. It features profiles of each officer, describing their roles, interests, and goals for the year. It also shares memories and advice from FBLA alumni and discusses challenges faced by one chapter in restarting their FBLA program.

1. THE BAY BREEZE
bay breeze / issue 1 / page 1
bay section fbla’s official newsletter sept 2014
AMIT PASUPATHY
I am your ultimate best friend. As Bay Section President, I want to be available to help, chat, or maybe even freak out about anime. In all seriousness, I am a senior at Lynbrook High School and am honored to serve as your section president. I also serve as Lynbrook’s ASB President. Bay Section is filled with people who will change the world, and this year, I dare you to dream of how you’ll do it.
PRESIDENT
MEET YOUR BAY SECTION TEAM
HANA KIM
Hi everyone! My name is Hana Kim and I am excited to serve as this year’s Bay Section Vice President! Joining FBLA has been one of the best decisions I have ever made, and I hope that each and every one of you are able to feel the same. Aside from FBLA, I love swimming, eating dole whip, traveling, and watching all movies other than horror. I look forward to meeting all of you!
VICE PRESIDENT
YOOHYUN CHOI
My name is Yoohyun and I can’t wait to meet all of you! In addition to FBLA, I absolutely love traveling, volunteering, corgis (fun fact: I own a pair of corgi printed socks), watching/discussing TV shows, making PowerPoints, and hanging out with friends. My favorite memory in FBLA was watching my middle level chapter and its members grow and I can’t wait to see Bay Section do the same!
SECRETARY
STEPHANIE SHI
I can’t believe that it’s already going to be my third year in FBLA! I hope to get to know more of you this year and work together towards achieving our daring dreams. Besides FBLA- ing, I also have unhealthy obsessions with design, math, and food. Please don’t be afraid to talk to me, as I am more than happy to answer your questions or become your friend! (Bonus points if you like BBC Sherlock or Doctor Who.)
PUBLIC RELATIONS
EMILY GAO
Hi everyone! My name is Emily, and I am super stoked to serve as your state PR officer this year. Through the past few years in FBLA, I have made my best memories and built my best friendships with some of the best people I’ve ever met. All in all, FBLA is the absolute best. I’m excited to watch all of you do amazing things this year, and please feel free to talk to me about anything at all! I’m PRetty easy to talk to!
STATE PUBLIC RELATIONS
JEREMY XUE
Hi! I’m Jeremy Xue and I will be serving as your Bay Section Treasurer for the upcoming year! I am a junior at Cupertino High and am one of the Middle Level Officers for Cupertino FBLA. I’ve been in FBLA since my freshman year, and I hope to help new and returning members alike have the same unforgettable experiences that I’ve been fortunate enough to have experienced in my time with FBLA!
TREASURER
AUSTIN CHOW
My name is Austin Chow and I am thrilled to serve as your Bay Section Parliamentarian! As a junior at Westmoor High and an active member for two years, I have tremendously grown through my experience in FBLA. I hope that this year you too can grow into a leader through the many opportunities this organization has to offer. Outside of FBLA, I love to play basketball and a variety of instruments. Can’t wait to meet you all!
PARLIAMENTARIAN
RANI MAVRAM
I’m thrilled to be serving as your State Parliamentarian alongside both the State and Bay Section team. I have been actively involved in FBLA and Parliamentary Procedure since my freshman year, and I encourage everyone to give it a try! Outside of FBLA, I love to spend time with my dog Oreo and volunteer at various organizations. Be sure to say hello if you see me around!
STATE PARLIAMENTARIAN

2. bay breeze / issue 1 / page 2
MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT
Another year is in our midst, and I cannot wait for Bay Section to show the nation once again that we are ready to learn
more, to place more, and to serve more than ever before. It is truly thrilling to be the president of a section that knows no
limits. Your Bay Section team has been working hard over the summer to prepare a year of great events for you, from the
Leadership Development Institute (Hyatt Regency Santa Clara, October 17-19) to the Bay Section Leadership Confer-ence
(Westmoor High School, February 28). We are excited to see old friends and meet new members at our conferences
and events – remember, we’ll be the people in suits. This year, I dare you to dream of all you can accomplish: as the saying goes, shoot for the
moon, because even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars. Enjoy our first edition of the Bay Breeze, and know that you can always contact
me directly at apasupathy@cafbla.org.
Onward and upward,
Amit
2014 NATIONAL LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE RECAP
Bay Section FBLA sent over 180 dele-gates
to the 2014 National Leadership
Conference from June 29th to July
2nd in Nashville, TN.
Photo Credits:
1: Hana Kim; 2 & 3: Jeremy Chen; 4 & 5: Nistan
Orr; 6: Serena Ngan
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12111
2
3
4
5
CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL
COMPETITORS!
$11,900 from National FBLA spon-sors
were awarded to Bay Section
FBLA members.
43 awards were won by Bay Sec-tion
FBLA members.
$ $ $ $
FACTS AND STATS
6
Lynbrook FBLA after the
awards ceremony.
Liwen X. and Lian S. of Monta
Vista FBLA pose with their awards.
Monta Vista FBLA after
the awards ceremony.
View of the Gaylord Opryland
Resort and Convention Center.
Homestead FBLA after
the awards ceremony.
Dharma N. of Cupertino
FBLA accepts an award.

3. bay breeze / issue 1 / page 3
SOME WORDS OF WISDOM FROM FBLA ALUMNI.
WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
1. WHAT ARE YOU MAJORING IN OR INTERESTED IN DOING?
DERRICK CHOW: I am definitely interested in majoring in business with some interest in
law as well!
ANGELA KONG: I plan on majoring in Symbolic Systems and Computer Science.
MATTHEW LI: I am interested in majoring in computer science as well as learning more about business. I’m also thinking about going into software/app development, and maybe even starting my own business one day further down the line.
NANCY LIAO: I am majoring in Sociology and Business Administration with a minor in Public Policy. I knew I wanted to go into business after being exposed to real-world experiences such as marketing for Partnership with Business Project partners and researching business models for competitions in FBLA. I actually discovered sociology while exploring the library last summer and fell in love; the degree is not meant to serve me any practical purpose but just as a personal interest! I hope to go into management consulting right out of my undergraduate studies. I became heavily involved in a consulting organization in college and loved the opportunity to learn about such a wide range of fields within business and develop a strong knack for thinking strategically, a skill applicable to virtually any future career. (...) Afterward, or maybe even through my career in consulting, I would love to plan corporate social responsibility initiatives to help large businesses maximize the potential of their resources and reach in contributing to society. I have always dreamed of meshing business acumen with fulfillment of community needs.
KATHERINE LIU: I’m hoping to study computer science with a focus in human-computer interaction. In terms of broader interests, I follow the tech, biotech, and design scenes pretty closely, and I would love to get really involved in one or more of those fields in
the future.
SANJANA SATHYANARYANA: I’m intending to double major in Business Administration and Economics at Berkeley. I hope to go into management consulting in the future.
SARAH TANG: As of now, I’m planning to major in philosophy, politics and economics. I’m also considering studying international relations or political science.
2. LOOKING BACK, WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE MEMORY OF FBLA?
ANGELA: My best memory was after the NLC Awards Ceremony during my freshman year, where even though we didn’t place as high as we wanted to, my whole Parliamentary Procedure team just went to McDonalds and consoled/celebrated with lots of McFlurries and soft serve ice cream. Throughout it all, we realized that the place we received didn’t define the genuine relationships we had developed as teammates, battle buddies, and lifelong friends.
MATTHEW: My best memory in FBLA was recent, at my last NLC this past summer. It was 4 am on the last night of our last conference ever, and all we did was play deuces and reminisce about our time in FBLA: the regrets, the accomplishments, the embarrassing moments. There was a simple, but genuine feeling of pride for all we’d done and for how much we’d grown over the past four years, a feeling that reminded me that while we take away so many valuable life and business skills, the relationships and bonds that we form in this organization are so much more meaningful.
Derrick Chow, ‘14
Matthew Li, ‘14
Angela Kong, ‘14
Katherine Liu, ‘14
Nancy Liao, ‘13
Sanjana Sathyanaryana, ‘13
Sarah Tang, ‘14
cont on page 4

4. grew so much more from working with oth-ers;
I wish I could’ve taken the opportunity
earlier to improve my speaking and people
skills. There’s no payoff like getting to go up
on stage with your teammates after working
on a project for months and practicing for
hours and hours for that heart-racing presen-tation,
and then know that you’ve made it.
NANCY: Not meeting more people. Every-one
at events and conferences is unbelievably
talented, and there is so much to learn from
them.
KATHERINE: I made more great friends
than I can count at conferences, but I wish I
had kept in contact with even more people.
It might seem a little awkward at first to ask
for someone’s contact information at a con-ference,
but trust me – the people you meet
through FBLA are going to be doing amazing
things, and you’re going to want to be part of
that journey.
4. HOW DO YOU THINK FBLA HAS
HELPED YOU GROW AS A PERSON
AND HELP YOU PREPARE FOR THE
FUTURE?
ANGELA: I can say without a moment’s
hesitation that FBLA has been the most in-fluential
part of the leader I am today. With-out
FBLA, I wouldn’t know how to network
with other business professionals, which is
an instrumental part of obtaining internships
bay breeze / issue 1 / page 4
NANCY: Sequestering rooms for case study
competitions. Getting to know not only my
own teammates, but also other competi-tors,
was some of the most fun I had in high
school. Everyone was so kind despite the fact
that we were competing against each other.
The lack of animosity was incredible. I still
remember playing cup-stacking games with
a Management Decision Making team from
Tennessee, and then hugging them on stage
when we found we were the final two teams!
SARAH: Watching Lynbrook members suc-ceed
on stage during States 2014 and bonding
with two of my closest friends from my Web-site
Design team long after States.
3. WHAT WAS YOUR BIGGEST
REGRET?
DERRICK: Not having enough confidence
during my freshman and sophomore years in
my abilities to be a leader.
ANGELA: Not qualifying for my last FBLA
Nationals because my teammate and I end-ed
up fooling around during team meetings
(which I don’t regret) than actually preparing
for our competition before States.
MATTHEW: My biggest regret looking back
is not trying team-based speaking events ear-lier
on in my FBLA career. Taking individual,
written tests definitely taught me a lot and
were incredibly rewarding experiences, but I
and opportunities during job fairs in college.
Without FBLA, I don’t think I would have the
confidence to speak in front of crowds, let
alone classrooms. Without FBLA, I wouldn’t
have been given the honor of experiencing
how both difficult and rewarding leading
one of the largest organizations in our school
would be.
DERRICK: FBLA has given me the confi-dence
I need to believe in what I can do as
long as I put the work in.
MATTHEW: In terms of business skills, I
have learned how to work with others, how to
be professional (both attire and attitude), and
how to manage time and resources. FBLA
has also taught me speaking skills, including
public speaking, impromptu speaking, and
communicating ideas to others, even if only
in conversation. Most importantly, FBLA in-spired
me to want to push myself to be bet-ter
and have the courage to do the things that
terrified me.
NANCY: FBLA helped me find who I am -
not only in the typical cheesy sense, but also
in allowing me to develop my own balance
between professionalism
“Alumni” cont. from page 3
You could say that Leland High School is
defined by our Speech and Debate program.
On the school’s Wikipedia page, the imme-diate
line after designating our location is
about the national ranking of Leland’s Speech
and Debate. Continue scrolling, and Leland’s
S&D shows up again under ‘Awards and
Recognition.’ Due to the strong position this
program has secured, few Leland clubs can
ever gain any recognition or even hold on
to their members. Therefore, though Leland
FBLA was started two years ago, our chapter
sadly gradually died off.
As the new FBLA president, I didn’t begin
to know what jobs fell under my title, so the
first step was to seek help. Looking to Cuper-tino
High School’s FBLA chapter, I consulted
my middle level chair and my brother’s part-ners
and friends (who were now officers) and
received crucial information Beginning May
of last year, in order to start spark some inter-est,
I used posters and social media to spread
word about the first FBLA meeting and
RESTARTING A CHAPTER IN A CLUB DESERT
By Pheobe Yin, Leland FBLA
stressed that the club needed an officer team.
In doing so, I hoped to gather the attention
of those that were seeking leadership roles,
also known as the ambitious ones. Howev-er,
at that first meeting, the few people that
came were mostly friends coming to support
me but not quite interested or committed in
FBLA itself.
At this pivoting point, I decided it
was time to turn a disadvantage into
an advantage. Leland’s S&D was full
of bright, motivated individuals that
held confidence and knowledge about
current events. At one meeting, when all the
announcements were finished, I charged to
the front of the room for
cont on page 5
cont on page 5
“FBLA inspired me to want to push
myself to be better and have the
courage to do the things that
terrified me.” - Matthew Li
Leland FBLA’s informational meeting.
Photo Credits: Joshua Torres

5. and letting my quirky personality shine through. When you’re dressed in business attire and in a professional setting for an entire weekend, meeting new people left and right, you quickly learn how to present yourself well without lose touch with what makes you unique. It truly takes practice and being thrown into that environment to find this. As a result, opportunities such as company networking events and interviews have become less intimidating and even fun!
KATHERINE: FBLA helped me learn how to write my first professional email, how to set up meetings with companies large and small, how to make the best of a situation when your projector breaks down during state project presentation – even though I’m not planning on going into business right now, everything I’ve done through FBLA has come back to help me in some way, whether it’s searching for internships or meeting leaders in my field.
SANJANA: FBLA has basically shaped who I am today. Whether it is being able to effectively give a presentation to a room of strangers or speaking to a business professional for a potential partnership, FBLA gave me the confidence and business acumen to do so.
SARAH: More than the specific skills the competitions are aimed to test, I’ve learned how to work effectively with a group of people, developed stronger communication skills that allow me to carry a conversation with adults, children, parents (variety of age groups), and most particularly, learning how to serve such a large group of people and finding that the biggest reward comes from seeing others succeed.
5. WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO NEW FBLA MEMBERS?
ANGELA: Step out of your comfort zone.
Seriously.
DERRICK: Don’t be scared to fall because even falling is a learning experience; it’s a win-win situation.
MATTHEW: There are two voices in your head: the one that tells you to do the safe thing, and the one that tells you to do the scary thing; listen to the scary one.
NANCY: Do everything for the experience. If your motivation is an award, a position title, or anything along those lines, you’ll come out of high school with a laundry list of regrets. The most valuable things you will get out of FBLA are the learning experiences, shared memories with the people you meet, and fun times.
KATHERINE: Never underestimate what a group of ferociously determined high schoolers can achieve. If there’s a project you really want to pursue, dig deep and go for it – that one project (successful or not) will teach you much more and matter much more in the future than a grade on a test.
SANJANA: My advice would be to get as involved in FBLA as possible and to try to involve yourself in all, if not most, of the wonderful different opportunities offered (instead of limiting yourself to just one aspect). By getting involved in competitions, projects, committees, and the local and bay/state officer teams, you will have the opportunity to learn a unique set of skills and knowledge from each. FBLA is one of those organizations in which you won’t regret putting in a lot of time and effort because you get so much more back in return.
SARAH: While all of FBLA’s opportunities may seem overwhelming, try out a few events at first, attend a conference, go on a business tour, and don’t be afraid to ask for help! ■
“Alumni” cont. from page 4
everyone’s attention. The main focus was that with our established or budding speaking skills, we could reap twice the benefits and experience in FBLA. However, if they didn’t follow through and come to the meeting, my talk would’ve been useless, so next to the meeting room’s door, I stuck a gigantic, yellow poster with the date and time comparable to those “Caution, Nuclear Waste” signs. By giving them an obvious and logical next step, the “make-up first meeting” was a glorious success - to the point where panoramic photo was difficult from the amount of people and excited energy.
Using many parts of Cupertino FBLA’s officer application, we found ourselves a new officer team for this year. Over the summer, Cupertino FBLA offered us a spot at their officer summit, during which many of our abstract and specific questions were answered. Through the experience, we received the right resources such as the “New Chapter Guide,” which gave us a step-by-step outline of just what preliminary procedures needed to be completed.
A few days ago, we found our new advisor - though she doesn’t teach economics, she seems excited about learning and committed to her students - the most important characteristics about any advisor. Our Public Relations team and I have also gone to the local BBQ offered to new freshmen to speak and hand out fliers - where we somehow received an instant reaction from the parents at the mentioning of awards.
The slope of the line seems to be slow but hopefully exponential positive. We are definitely still an experimenting chapter, when
bay breeze / issue 1 / page 5
“FBLA has basically shaped
who I am today.”
- Sanjana Sathyanarayana
Restarting” cont. from page 4
even holding a simple officer meeting can be a question of dedication. For now, our long- term goal is that we can move from being an unknown name on campus to an entirely separate category under the Wikipedia page of Leland High School. ■
Special thanks to the Cupertino FBLA Officer team, Mr. St. John, and Vinitra Swamy.
Leland FBLA’s informational meeting.
Photo Credits: Joshua Torres

6. bay breeze / issue 1 / page 6
UPCOMING
What is LDI and what makes it so special? LDI stands for the Leadership Development Institute and is a conference where members are able to network and communicate with one another through various workshops and activities. Workshops range from Networking, where you are able to learn how to communicate effectively and efficiently with other members, to Entrepreneurship, where you learn what it takes to run a business. Other activities vary from Zumba to the annual blue jeans dance for March of Dimes. With all this to offer and more, LDI will be a highlight to your FBLA career and will be tons of fun for you and your friends. A conference that does not involve any competitions, LDI is a great way to enjoy the other aspects of FBLA, such as meeting new people and making great experiences. LDI North is just around the corner and will be held at the scenic Hyatt Regency Santa Clara from October 17-19! With so many different workshops to choose from, there will definitely be several that catch your interest. Remember to take advantage of this opportunity by listening to all the presentations and getting out of your comfort zone. It’s not everyday where you are surrounded with thousands of ambitious and unique people who share a similar passion: FBLA.
WANT TO CONTRIBUTE TO THE BAY BREEZE?
Contact Stephanie Shi at baypr@cafbla.org to find out about how your article can
appear in The Bay Breeze.
OAT DAY: 09/20
This year’s Officer and Advisers Training Day will be held at Live Oak High School in Morgan Hill on September 20th. Local chapter officers will be able to learn more on how they can improve their chapter, and advisers will learn about their responsibilities. The Bay Section Team will lead workshops on topics like outreach, recruitment, conferences, fundraising and more. Chapter officers will be able to not only network with other local chapter officers, but also learn tips and information to implement for their chapter. There will also be individual officer workshops for president, vice president, secretary, treasurer, public relations, and parliamentarian. These workshops help you learn more about your role for the chapter and the responsibilities you need to fulfill. The dress code is business casual and lunch will be provided. The Bay Section officers look forward to seeing you all there!
LDI-NORTH: 10/17-10/19
The chapter of FBLA at Foothill High School did not start off as simple as the rest of the clubs at school. I first heard of FBLA when I was at my old school, then when I moved here, Derrick Chow, last year’s Bay Section President, suggested that I start it since he heard that someone at my school wanted to create a chapter. I gave it a try and FBLA began near the end of the first semester and this had been due to the hardships of the administration and the ASB which delayed the club’s creation. This had a negative effect on publicity for the club because we had missed the club festival and registration which were big chances at getting members, consequently heavily hindering our club’s numbers but nevertheless, with a team of three, we went off to Bay Section competition. Although we did not win our very first competition, it in turn gave us light to the new experience that the club gave us which we will continue treasuring and embed into the history of FBLA for Foothill. Through these conferences, our members have networked and made many friendships with other students from the Bay Area and across the state as well. As the obstacles came and came, whether at state competition or dealing with our school’s administration, it has come to my attention to make changes for the better prosperity of the club.
Past experiences that hindered our club reaching its full potential was that officer communication had been a problem, we weren’t able to keep on task as an officer team, and officers had trouble making meetings and events. This year I plan to split up and give roles/tasks in order to make a more perfect union within the club; examples would be Secretary planning company tours and Public Relation officers coordinating fundraisers. And within these roles, I can see the progress of each individual officer and tailor help to what he/she is having trouble with. During the 2014-2015 school year I plead to the resolution of adding more incentives and greatness to our club. Company tours and guest speakers are just a few mentioned of many things that we have in store for FBLA and a few to reach out for more members to expand this wonderful club for the better. I’m looking forward to taking our chapter to a greater height this year with not only increased membership but also a greater enthusiasm from all the members and the officer team. ■
FIRST CHAPTER PROBLEMS
By Kim Szeto, Foothill FBLA
1. Set your target market.
4 TIPS FOR PROMOTION
You will have to tailor your pitches depending on your audience. When promoting to students, talk about your personal FBLA experiences. When promoting to parents or the school administration, make sure to emphasize the different skills that FBLA can help its members develop, such as speaking, business knowledge, and leadership.
3. Utilize social media.
Social media is an excellent promotion tool. One social media platform is Facebook. Have your officer team use digital flyers and profile pictures to promote events. Create a Facebook Page in order to increase your audience. Make Facebook events for important upcoming events, and invite friends and members to attend! In addition, consider using other social media platforms such as Tumblr, Twitter, and Instagram.
2. Promote around school.
If your school allows, post flyers and posters around campus to your first meeting. Consider creating a cut-out board for students to take pictures with. Don’t forget to utilize school announcements and the school website to get the word out about your first meeting!
4. Ask returning members to help.
Returning members are a great resource for promotion. It does not only have to be officers promoting FBLA actively; ask returning members to advertise FBLA to their friends and peers as well! One idea is to have a business formal day so that members can promote FBLA and business while participating in chapter activities. ■