There is no doubt in my mind that when we come together, with each of our individual strengths, that our collective impact is stronger and there is nothing FBLA-PBL cannot accomplish! Just as each individual puzzle piece creates the finished product, each of our members has the power to impact our larger picture. We now more than ever need to come together to impact the larger conversation about education and the important role of CTE and how Career Technical Student Organizations like FBLA positively change lives.

After recently attending the Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE) National Policy Seminar in Washington D.C., it is clearer than ever that CTE is education that works for America.  CTE benefits millions of students like you and me each year and is the way that we’re able to access awesome opportunities like FBLA.

After hearing from speakers like Undersecretary of Education Martha Kanter, I was reminded of the impact of Career and Technical Education and how my CTSO experience in FBLA has changed my life. And, I realized that this opportunity would not been available had previous generations of students and leaders not advocated for this important federal and state funding. It is now our turn to do the same for future generations of students and teachers.

CTE has ultimately changed my life, given me the skills I need to be successful in college and my future career, and it gave me access to FBLA, which has provided the opportunity to practice education and grow my leadership skills.  These are skills that every student in America needs and that the competitive global economy will demand from the nations who want to be leaders.

While I know the impact CTE has had on my life, I know my story is not different from the countless other students who’s lives have been forever impacted by CTE. While I may have spent March 5-7 advocating for CTE on Capitol Hill, each of you can get mobilized and make an even more important impact in your own hometowns and states. With an ongoing national conversation on CTE, now is an important time for our voices to be collectively heard and to, truly, make a difference.

I am asking you to share your personal story, about how CTE has changed your life, with policy makers, educators, and CTE advocates. I even encourage you to send your stories about FBLA and CTE directly to ACTE to help them spread the message about the importance of CTE in student’s lives. For more information on the riveting work that ACTE is doing for us, visit www.acteonline.org.

If we all come together and share our own stories, there will be no disputing that CTE works for the students of today and the students of tomorrow. Just by being a member of FBLA, you have your own story—one that is worth telling. Members and advisers I ask you to join us in the national effort to promote CTE year round. Share your story with others, consider joining ACTE, and continue to be successful in your CTE courses. Together, we will continue to show that CTE Works!