Aurora senior recaps his year as state president
Graham Christenson has a different perspective than most after this year’s state FBLA conference in Kearney. The Aurora senior competed like many of his fellow Huskies, punching his ticket to nationals this summer in Orlando, but also had a seat at the head table as this year’s Nebraska state FBLA president.
Now that his tenure is all but over, Christenson said it’s been an experience he will always cherish, one that helped him grow in various ways.
“It was definitely a super valuable experience,” he said. “I feel like I gained a lot just from working with five other great leaders from other schools around the state and then just that experience leading on such a large stage is something that a lot of high schoolers don’t get to experience. That will definitely be a valuable experience that kind of sets me apart for some of may peers as I go into college.”
On a personal level, an already busy high school senior took the art of multi-tasking to a new level with FBLA obligations taking time away from AHS sports and academics.
“It was great personally just learning how to balance being a state officer with trying to play three sports throughout the year,” he said, recalling various FBLA meetings and zoom calls, as well as a three-day conference in Texas at the start of basketball season. “It took a lot of time management and communication, but I’m definitely glad I put myself in that position to learn those valuable lessons.”
Christenson said he hopes and believes his state leadership role had an impact on his home chapter as well.
“We’re always pretty strong in our competitive events in Aurora, but having a student serve as a state officer I feel like there’s an extra level of excitement,” he said. “Kids are excited to see me on the stage or see me at different conferences throughout the year, so it gets kids within Aurora even more excited to be members of FBLA.”
Christenson said he himself was motivated when a former Husky, Caden Carlson, served as state vice president, which prompted him to run for state reporter as a sophomore. Having served in that role as a junior, he felt like there was more to be done, so he ran for state president, which required a campaign that was an education in itself.
“I decided to get a little bit ambitious and thrust myself into that race and I’m definitely glad I did,” he said. “It took a lot of courage because there are not a lot of situations in life where you are speaking in front of 2,000 people, so to have that experience was super great.”
Asked what he is most proud of during his tenure, Christenson said he feels like he helped improve the organization’s newsletter.
“We send out a monthly newsletter, The Pledge, and I always felt like as a member it wasn’t too accessible,” he explained. “They only posted on it three times a year, so I didn’t feel like like the information that was being shared was up to date or being pushed out in a timely enough manner. When I was in charge with that as reporter we moved to a monthly format, which has been super beneficial the past two years and we’ve seen a lot of engagement spike through that.”
Christenson is now setting his sights on life after high school, having gained experience and a heightened level of confidence in himself during the past year, thanks in part to FBLA.
“Being elected state president last year gave me the confidence to kind of know that I have the ability to accomplish those types of big things,” he said. “It was a goal I had set for myself and I kind of demonstrated that through hard work and putting your mind to something it can be achieved. It gave me a lot of confidence going forward, just knowing that if there are things I want to achieve in life, I have the ability to go and reach those goals.”
Next fall, Christenson plans to enroll at either Creighton University or the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, a decision he’ll make this week after learning recently that he was offered a full scholarship to attend CU.
“I’m not 100 percent on what I want to do, but I think something intermixed with marketing or maybe finance,” he said. “I would definitely love the opportunity to own my own business or work in some sort of business that has to do with sports. That’s an area I’ve gotten a lot of experience in and so if I had the opportunity to kind of blend my passion for sports and business that would be another one of my dreams.”
Christensen is the son of John and Carla Christenson.