Six top students from Oxford Area High School are taking their leadership skills to the next level and competing against the best in the nation.

The Oxford elite advanced from the state Future Business Leaders of America conference in their respective categories and are now headed to Atlanta for a week of workshops, competitions, sightseeing and social events at the National Leadership Conference June 29-July 2, according to an Oxford Area School District staff report.

Seniors Jocelyn Golly, Julia Koehler and Emma Wilkinson earned their trip when they placed second at state with a public service announcement that promoted the positive impact of high school athletics.

“In light of recent events, a lot of sports teams have been portrayed in a negative light,” Wilkinson said in the article. “So our prompt was to make a PSA demonstrating how sports can serve to unite students and make for a better school environment.”

Their work featured “a lot of fast-moving footage from many of the sports we have at our school” and focused on “teamwork, discipline, confidence, fitness and trust.”

The seniors are joined by three juniors: Zibby Harvey, Ellie Murphy and Mikael Axelsson.

Harvey claimed first place in a job interview after competing a year ago as a Future Business Leader.

“Job Interview is more about you rather than your involvement with FBLA,” she said.

Murphy took second after her Future Business Leader test and interview, and Axelsson came in seventh for Spreadsheet Applications with his Microsoft Excel expertise.

“They want to see how well you are able to use different formulas, create graphs and charts, and interpret different data and use it effectively in a business format,” he said.

Read more about Oxford’s national qualifiers and others from the school’s delegation of 21 state finalists here, and check out previous VISTA Today coverage of Oxford events here.