PHSC FBLA earns top statewide chapter honor, dozens of awards in Orlando

Krista Knowles helped push Pasco-Hernando State College’s Future Business Leaders of America chapter to the top statewide honor, giving Hernando County a clear example of how student leadership can translate into job-ready business skills. At the Collegiate Level State Leadership Conference in Orlando, held at the DoubleTree SeaWorld from March 19 to March 22, PHSC was named Top Chapter among colleges and universities.

The win carried more weight than a single trophy. A dozen PHSC FBLA members were recognized across 12 categories, a spread that reached public speaking, digital media and design, marketing sales case study, customer service, hospitality management, business presentation, business communications and parliamentary procedures. For a local college trying to prepare students for internships, hiring, and advancement, that breadth matters. It shows students are practicing the same communication, presentation, teamwork and decision-making skills that Hernando County employers ask for every day.

Knowles was one of the chapter’s biggest individual standouts, taking first place in State of Chapter and Future Business Executive and also placing fourth in Parliamentary Procedures. Emmalise Feliciano, who serves as the 2025-2026 Collegiate State Parliamentarian, also delivered a strong showing with first place in State of Chapter and fourth in Business Presentation. Feliciano joined FBLA in 2022, and her rise through the organization underscored the chapter’s depth.

Other PHSC winners included Kyla Flood, who took first in Public Speaking and fourth in Business Communications; Kaylee Smith, first in Digital Media and Design Case; Bryce Widman, David Hennes and John Lias, first in Marketing Sales Case Study; Josbel Marcano, second in Customer Service; Elisabeth Capitoni and Michael Widman, fourth in Hospitality Management Case; Amanda Campos, fourth in Foundations of Computer Science; and Teanna Hill, fourth in State of Chapter.

Curtis Scaglione, the chapter’s advisor and dean of the School of Business Innovation and Technology at PHSC’s West Campus, credited the students’ talent, leadership and commitment to excellence, along with support from faculty and staff. The college’s 2026 results followed another strong year in 2025, when PHSC won Chapter of the Year and Gold Seal Recipient and Scaglione was named Adviser of the Year.

Every student who placed in the top four qualified for the National Leadership Conference in Las Vegas, Nevada, set for June 6 to June 8. For PHSC, the Orlando results turned a campus victory into a workforce signal for Hernando County.