Phi Beta Lambda Competitors Headed to Nationals After Setting a Texas Record

A dozen members of the JSOM student organization Phi Beta Lambda are entering leadership competitions at the organization’s national convention in Nashville June 24-27 following record-setting success at PBL’s state conference.

Contests at that April gathering at Stephen F. Austin University in Nacogdoches tested subject knowledge in 26 business and management categories. In all, JSOM students earned 35 awards, including 21 for first place – a state record.

Atop that success came the announcement that the Jindal School has been selected to host the 2015 and 2016 state conferences.

The collegiate division of the Future Business Leaders of America, Phi Beta Lambda focuses on preparing students for careers in business and business-related fields. On the college level, more than 11,000 students nationwide participate in the organization, which is designed to build leadership and scholarship. The UT Dallas chapter is based in the Jindal School.

Jindal School competitors at the state conference were happy to improve upon their 2013 performance, when 21 students earned 29 state awards.

“When we won so big last year, it was a surprise and exciting,” said Dr. Vance Johnson Lewis, advisor to the UT Dallas PBL chapter and director of the Jindal School’s undergraduate program in business administration. “This year we definitely wanted to prove we are the strongest team in the state.”

The state competition allowed students to compete in both online and on-campus events, and those who placed first or second in each category qualified to move on.

“I’m very proud of all our members and commend all the effort put into preparing for competition,” Melvin Lopez, a JSOM senior going to Nashville, said. “We’ve proven we’re the best in Texas.…Now it’s time to prove we are the best in the nation.”

Aside from competing, Lewis said that other elements of the chapter changed during the 2013-2014 academic year to add strength to the team. “We have moved away from just being a competition team,” Lewis said. “Over the past year we have also focused on being a well- rounded student organization and increasing our professional growth.”

As part of these efforts, Lewis invited Dr. Michele Lockhart, a senior lecturer in JSOM’s Organizations Strategy and International Management Area, to join as co-advisor and Shaheena Ramzan, a 2013 BS in Management Information System graduate and consultant at Capgemini Worldwide, to join as an alumni advisor.

* – Going to Nationals