Komachin Middle School students named national CTE champions

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North Thurston Public Schools (NTPS) honored three Komachin Middle School students who ranked third in the national Career and Technical Education (CTE) championship during its school board meeting yesterday.

The team is a part of the Future Business Leaders of America, one of the largest career and technical education organizations in the world. CTE adviser Kate Reece introduced the winners,  Cyrus Biel, Zeke Hanson and Issy Justis. Reece shared that each student individually won the top awards in the regional and state CTE competitions.

The group then joined together as a team to compete on a national Fall Stock Market Challenge. Their adviser explained that each team was given $100,000 in scrip to invest in stocks, bonds and mutual funds. Aside from winning the challenge, Reece said that their chapter also earned the silver medal, beating more than 150 high schools across the country.

Their advisor also shared the struggles of preparing for a national competition in the middle of a pandemic. However, Reece said that despite the social distancing limitations, the team was still able to meet and collaborate.

Aside from joining competitions, the group is also involved in their community. They even started an e-sports league and would often host Friday night activities with other students including playing popular video games such as Among Us.

In a statement, NTPS School Board President Gretchen Maliska said, “receiving a national level award in FBLA is an amazing feat and you did that in middle school. That is absolutely impressive. It clearly takes a village and you have a good support system.”

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