FBLA participated in the third annual Buccaneers Career Day at Raymond James Stadium on Tuesday, October 23. The students received a behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to run an NFL franchise. During the trip, students were separated into groups where they rotated between eight different stations. Each station comprised of a member or specialist of one of the many departments that make up the NFL Buccaneers franchise. The departments they visited addressed the following: communications, player engagement, public relations, travel, ticket sales, marketing, digital design, and entertainment.

Senior Timmy Quinto has been a member of FBLA for four consecutive years, and acted as Historian for two of those years. He gained a lot from this trip to the Buccaneer stadium.

“I learned to always plan ahead and to have backup plans” Quinto said. “We learned from several managers to always have another plan because you may not have the same interests from high school than you do in college.”

Junior, Romuald Thomas has been a member since his freshman year, acting as Co-President this year. Thomas explained how this experience helped him in regards to his future career.

“In accordance to the information shared with me during the event, it brought to my attention the importance of communication and how distinguished systems and departments interact and work with one another to create a successful entity,” Thomas explained.

Club sponsor Donna Fraser shared what it was like to see her students engaged in this event.

“Students interacted with the business professionals who run the franchise, where the students had an opportunity to learn skills they need to be successful in college, a real world application,” said Fraser.