Madison Henn did not grow up knowing what the Future Business Leaders of America was. She graduated from Kansas High School in 2015, went to Eastern Illinois University for a business management degree with a concentration in human resources, spent a couple of years working in HR at a manufacturing plant in Paris, and decided it wasn't for her. Teaching found her through a side door — a year as a full-time substitute at Chrisman that counted toward an alternate certification route — and four years ago she landed at Martinsville. The FBLA chapter came with the job.

"Before coming to Martinsville, I had no idea what it was myself," she said. She has since figured it out well enough to have students qualify for nationals every year so far.

She describes FBLA to newcomers as the business version of FFA — a national organization offering students competitive events, networking opportunities, community service, scholarships, and a chance to explore career paths before they have to commit to one. For students in a small school like Martinsville, it is also a chance to walk into a room full of students from larger programs and hold their own. "They represent Martinsville really well when we leave the school," Henn said. "I'm really proud of them."

This year, 22 high school students are members. The chapter competes in two tracks: in-person events, where students are judged on skills like job interviewing, social media marketing, web design, and presentation, and objective tests — 100-question, 50-minute exams covering subjects from accounting to healthcare administration. The chapter competed at the area level in December, and in April, will head to the state competition at the Crowne Plaza in Springfield. Students who place in the top five at state in their event, and who score at least 65 percent on objective tests, qualify for nationals — this year in San Antonio, Texas.

Every year Henn has been at Martinsville, at least one student has qualified for the national level. In her first year, a student competed in accounting in Atlanta. The next year, a student made it to Orlando in the job interview event — submitting a resume and cover letter in advance, then sitting for a live interview with a second round for finalists. Last year, two students qualified, but the chapter couldn't afford the trip to Anaheim, California. This year, the results won't be known until students are standing on the stage in Springfield watching the live stream. "It's pretty nerve-wracking for the kids," Henn said, "but I love it."

One of the chapter's early highlights came in Henn's first year, when a sophomore rose through area officer ranks all the way to a state office. As the student's advisor, Henn found herself on the state board for the duration of that term — a responsibility she hadn't anticipated. "I wouldn't say I was prepared for it," she said, "but it was a lot of fun."

Preparation for state competition happens however it must in a small school. Henn runs study sessions, helps students build study guides, and pulls resources from the FBLA website. For the student competing in job interviewing, she brought in an unexpected resource: her own mother, a retired University of Illinois Extension office employee with years of interviewing experience, who came in during the school day to coach the student on professional presence and how to answer questions with confidence and clarity.

The chapter meets roughly once a month during Martinsville's Bluestreak period — a 30-minute midday block that also serves social-emotional learning and academic skill work — leaving Henn about 15 minutes to get information to her members. With 22 students spread across grade levels, many of them also her business class students, she catches people where she can.

Whatever it lacks in formality, it makes up for on the stage in Springfield each April, where Bluestreaks have been climbing the rankings since long before Madison Henn arrived — and show no signs of stopping.