March 31, 2021
ECCC Phi Beta Lambda students receiving top awards at the recent virtual Mississippi Phi Beta Lambda Leadership Conference were (top row, from left) Cezar Torres of Morton, Ashley Aycock of Rose Hill, Brian Pace of Collinsville, and Lakayla McCune of Decatur; (middle row, from left) Sierra Mallory of Philadelphia, Luke Wall of Decatur, Lillie Chapman of Philadelphia, and Thomas White of Louisville; and (bottom row, from left) Kristi Davis of Enterprise, Sydni Goldman of Pelahatchie, Keisha Torres of Morton, and Carmen Rodriguez of Carthage. (Submitted Photo)
Students from East Central Community College in Decatur placed first in 11 of 13 categories at the annual Mississippi Phi Beta Lambda State Leadership Conference Feb. 24-26.
This year’s competition was held virtually, with entries being judged live through video conferencing and through entries uploaded to YouTube for judging.
Phi Beta Lambda is a national business education association for students interested in careers in business and business-related fields. It is the largest career student organization in the world.
All 12 students from ECCC’s Theta Chi Chapter of PBL who competed placed in both events they entered, with 10 of the 12 students placing first in both events entered.
ECCC’s award-winning students included:
- Carmen Rodriquez of Carthage, First Place in Accounting.
- Sydni Goldman of Pelahatchie, First Place in Communications.
- Cezar Torres of Morton, First Place in Community Service.
- Lakayla McCune of Decatur, Brian Pace of Collinsville, and Rodriguez, First Place in Financial Services.
- Thomas White of Louisville, First Place in Impromptu Speaking.
- Ashley Aycock of Rose Hill and McCune, First Place in Integrated Marketing Campaign.
- Keisha Torres of Morton, First Place in Local Chapter Annual Business Report.
- Lillie Chapman of Philadelphia, Sierra Mallory of Philadelphia, Pace, Luke Wall of Decatur, and White, First Place in Parliamentary Procedures.
- Goldman, First Place in Small Business Plan.
- Chapman, Mallory, and Wall, First Place in Strategical Analysis and Decision Making.
- Kristi Davis of Enterprise, Cezar Torres, and Keisha Torres, First Place in Website Design.
- Aycock, Second Place in Client Service.
- Davis, Second Place in Job Interview.
All 12 students will compete virtually at the PBL National Leadership Conference to be held June 24-27.
Chapman and Cezar Torres were also recognized as Who’s Who in Phi Beta Lambda.
Several current and former ECCC students were recognized with entry into the Mississippi PBL Hall of Fame for placing first nationally at last summer’s virtual National Leadership Conference. They were Chapman, Toni Hilliard of Wesson, Genesis Lyons of Decatur, Pace, and Wall. May 2020 ECCC graduates who received Mississippi PBL Hall of Fame honors included Tucker Cain of Carthage, Janna Ford of Carthage, Beth Fortner of Port Gibson, Carly Greenwood of Philadelphia, Caleb McGrew of Meridian, Nathan Lampley of Louisville, and Hannah Stokes of Philadelphia.
As a chapter, East Central was recognized at the state conference with second place in fundraising for the March of Dimes, second place in Largest Chapter in Membership, and received Foundation Member status.
