Centennial business students on top of the world

Delegation earns two first places at national event

By Rob Cullivan

The Gresham Outlook, Jul 16, 2008, Updated Oct 30, 2009 (1 Reader comment)

Jim Clark / The Outlook

Centennial High School Future Business Leaders of America national winners. Erik Widestrom, from left, Curtis Cooper and Tyler Acevedo.

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The strapping young men want to make one thing clear – there’s nothing more masculine than helping a baby.

Tyler Acevedo, 18, a freshman at Oregon State University this fall, is adamant on this point.

“Everybody loves babies – it’s not just females.”

His former American Enterprise Project teammates from Centennial High School’s Future Business Leaders of America chapter nod their heads in agreement. The team expressed its concern for infants through a “Guide to Fundraising” manual it produced for the March of Dimes, which works to prevent premature birth, birth defects and infant mortality.

The guide, as well as a paper the team produced explaining the role of nonprofits like the March of Dimes in the U.S. economy, earned the team first place in the American Enterprise Project category at the National Future Business Leaders of America conference held in Atlanta from June 26-29.

Tyler put together the project with his teammates, Erik Widestrom, 18, who will attend the University of Chicago this fall, and Curtis Cooper, a senior at Centennial this fall who is also the chapter’s new president.

The three men say many folks at the national conference in Atlanta were a bit surprised boys wanted to help babies. However, both Tyler and Curtis note they’ve taken care of younger siblings and believe healthy babies make for a healthier world.

The trio was part of a top-notch team Centennial fielded in Atlanta. Justin Ottman, a freshman this fall at Oregon State, also brought home a first place in the category of Business Financial Plan, which required students to create a financial plan for business ventures.

Meanwhile, Stephanie Phoumivong, a senior this fall, Vlad Prantsevich, a graduate, and Erick Sanchez, a graduate, placed fourth in the Business Plan category, and JR Ferraris, a graduate, Jon Garcia, a graduate, and Jennifer Hernandez, a junior this fall, placed fourth in Emerging Business Issues.

Adriann Spencer, a business teacher and chapter adviser at Centennial, notes that the Atlanta performance was the best ever on a national stage for a Centennial Future Business Leaders of America delegation as well as the best by an Oregon high school in more than two decades. She adds that she couldn’t contain herself when the American Enterprise team won.

“It was definitely one of the proudest teacher moments I’ve ever had,” she says. “I was hysterical!”

Curtis says the victory widened his sense of possibility.

“That showed me I could do more than I thought I could that I could be part of something better.”

Erik, Curtis and Tyler note their work was rooted in their chapter’s dedication to raising money for such charities as the Make-A-Wish Foundation and March of Dimes. In fact, over the past school year, the chapter has raised more than $10,000 for such non-profits, Spencer says.

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