Mehner first Central student to win prestigious award

One senior at Cape Girardeau Central High School became the school's first student to receive the America Award from the Future Business Leaders of America.

Aaron Mehner, 18, was one of 26 winners from Missouri this year and 250 nationwide, but was the only local student to bring home the award.

He attended the FBLA National Leadership Conference in California this summer with Cape Central students Alex Mehner -- his twin brother -- and Josh Greaser, both seniors, and 2013 graduate Josh Sander. Sander also brought home a national award, placing seventh in the personal finance competition.

To even be considered for the America Award, students must complete multiple projects, including a 30-page paper, an electronic portfolio, a scrapbook and a blog. Theresa Taylor, FBLA adviser at Central High School, said the full list of requirements is about one-and-a-half pages long.

Although students are given their entire high school career to finish the four levels to receive the award, Alex Mehner completed the four in less than a year. (Adam Vogler)

"It was a huge, huge project," she said. "But he did good work on every project required."

Students are allowed their entire four years of high school to complete the four levels necessary to win the award, yet Mehner completed the four in less than a year. Taylor said each level increases in difficulty and many students give up after completing the second or third level.

Mehner, who has been a member of FBLA since his sophomore year and president for two years, said the opportunity to attend the conference in Anaheim, Calif., encouraged him to go for the award.

"When I first heard of [the award], I thought I'd never do it, but after I heard the conference was in Anaheim, I really wanted to go," he said.

As president, Mehner said he wanted to at least make an attempt to win the America Award to boost interest in his school's FBLA.

"The main driver, apart from California, was trying to make our chapter as good as it can be and leave an impression for the future," he said. "I want to make the FBLA here better."

Taylor said participation has declined recently, but she expects numbers to triple next year.

"I wish more kids would get involved," she said. "We don't just compete; we do social events and community service projects."

Taylor also noted participation in FBLA comes with long-term benefits. One of the 52 competition categories is job interview, where students participate in a mock interview, complete with resume and cover letter. The skills students learn in such a competition help them with job and college interviews in the future, Taylor said.

Mehner said he participated in the Job Interview competition last year and already is seeing the benefits. He will attend the University of Oklahoma next year to study meteorology, and wants to be part of the school's Air Force ROTC program. He's already completed one interview for an ROTC scholarship and said many of the interview questions mirrored those he was asked in the competition.

Finding time to complete the many necessary projects for the America Award was difficult at times, Mehner admitted, but said giving up never crossed his mind.

"My goal as president was to boost participation," he said. "And the best way to lead is to set a good example, so I hope that after I did this, people will at least try one of the levels, maybe more than one."

srinehrt@semissourian.com

388-3641

Pertinent address:

Cape Girardeau, Mo