Three members of Sweet Briar’s new Phi Beta Lambda chapter — the group just received its charter this semester — recently competed in a statewide competition that netted a first- and second-place finish and two third-place spots in four events.

The competition was held online, requiring participants to log in and complete multiple-choice tests on business-related topics. Laura Jett ’11 was the state’s top scorer on the accounting principles exam. Fellow first-year Katelyn James was second in statistical analysis and third in financial analysis and decision making, while Elizabeth Young took third in the project management event.

Phi Beta Lambda is an association for college students interested in business careers and is a sister organization of Future Business Leaders of America — one of the nation’s largest business-related organizations for high school and middle school students.

Awards for the online competition were presented at the Virginia PBL 2008 State Leadership Conference in Midlothian on March 31. Although Jett, James and Young did not attend, several Sweet Briar PBL members and business program faculty were there.

First- and second-place finishers are eligible to represent Virginia in their events at the PBL National Leadership Conference in Atlanta June 21 through 24. As an alternate, Young can and will go if a spot becomes open. Jett is planning to compete in Atlanta and James is hoping to go as well.

All three students said the testing process went smoothly and that they would participate again. James, who said she joined PBL in part to become more involved on campus, found the competition encouraging.

“I was able to use what I have learned in my applied statistics,” James, a not-yet declared engineering major, wrote in an e-mail. “It was a good chance to use the knowledge that I have learned in class for something more than just homework.”