Student Success
Students Win National Leadership Awards
Rising Stars Shine in the Lone Star State
RALEIGH, N.C. (June 2, 2025) – Wake Tech's Collegiate Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) students are celebrating a national championship and five other awards from the recent National Leadership Conference in Dallas, Texas.
Bradley Huntoon, who earned associate degrees in Network Management and Cloud Infrastructure in May, won first place at the event, which brought together top student leaders from across the country for three days of intense competition, professional development and networking. Huntoon, from Sanford, won the top award in the Foundations of Technology category.
FBLA is a global organization dedicated to inspiring and developing the next generation of business leaders through career preparation and leadership experiences.
In addition to Huntoon, the following Wake Tech students won awards:
- Neha Chowdary Amaraneni, Kiranpreet Kaur and Arpita Tokhi earned second place in the Business Presentation team competition.
- Huntoon placed third in Cybersecurity.
- Tokhi placed fifth in Foundations of Marketing.
- Mannal Amjad secured ninth place in the Future Business Facilitator event.
- Michael Ayodele placed 10th in the Future Business Facilitator event.
The students earned the opportunity to compete nationally after qualifying at the North Carolina FBLA Collegiate State Leadership Conference this spring, where they collectively won 21 awards, including three first-place finishes.
Advisor Michele Parrish praised the students for their determination and pride.
"It was so exciting to see each student who went to the State Leadership Conference qualify for the National Leadership Conference," she said. "Their enthusiasm and pride were contagious, and they all did their very best. While not every student won, those who competed in preliminary rounds advanced to the final rounds of competition – a huge accomplishment in itself!"
Parrish was also inducted into the Advisor Wall of Fame, a national honor for her outstanding contributions and more than 20 years of service as FBLA advisor.
FBLA's competitive events recognize and reward student excellence in career-related fields, providing them with opportunities to apply classroom concepts in workforce-simulated environments. One of the highlights of the conference was the opening session, featuring keynote speaker Astad Dhunjisha, vice president of Human Resources and Talent Acquisition at AT&T. Dhunjisha inspired students with insights from his global career in recruitment and talent strategy. The conference also included industry exhibits, leadership workshops and special opportunities like a behind-the-scenes tour of AT&T Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys.
Wake Tech's FBLA Collegiate chapter, one of the largest in North Carolina, continues to stand out nationally for both its size and success. Earlier this year, the chapter was awarded the Gold Star Award and Legacy Leadership Award, and was named one of three Gold Seal chapters in North Carolina for its exceptional participation in FBLA programs and initiatives.
