Community Corner
Jon Qin: Persistence Pays Off
He took first-place honors in the National FBLA Marketing Competition
- Name: Jon Qin, 17
- School: Parkland High School, 12th grade
- Greatest Accomplishment: Taking first-place honors for his marketing presentation at the National Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) competition last month in Orlando, Fla. The win is especially noteworthy since he only joined the FBLA Club at Parkland last year. “I was looking for something to get started,” he says. “I never took a marketing class [at Parkland], and I was overwhelmed because the FBLA has upwards of 50 categories. I chose marketing after a recommendation by one of the club officers. I just started studying about it and thought I might decide on marketing as a career because it involves a lot of travel. If I don’t go into marketing, I’ll work in another area of business, or maybe finance.” In order to make it to the nationals, Jon first had to make it past the regional and state levels of competition. The regional, he says, just involved learning marketing principals and placing either first, second or third on a test administered at Parkland. “It’s sort of funny. I actually placed fourth, but someone else dropped out, so I got to move on [to Hershey],” he says. “At the states, I had to create a marketing plan for a custard stand owner in Hershey, so I had to know demographics of the area,” he says. “The owner wanted to focus on selling more higher-priced premium custard, but his customers were price-sensitive, so I built a plan with advertising that focused on the product being new, and didn’t include the price in advertising.” His plan earned him a second place and a chance to compete in the national level in Florida.
- “We took a 100-question test, and the top 10 scorers moved on to make a presentation,” he says. “We were all sequestered, and were called out one by one. We were given a topic, and were allowed 20 minutes to put together a presentation. I created and planned a charity event for a large company I called ‘Superbrand” which had received some bad publicity in the press in recent years. In my mind, I likened the company to Walmart. Because Superbrand had stores all over the United States, I decided not to create a plan for a local event, but to make it a national event to benefit the Red Cross, since they’re usually on the scene after a disaster like Hurricane Katrina or the tornados in the Midwest. One of the reasons why I think I won was because I came up with a catchy name: Dimes for Disasters. In it, for every dollar spent in the stores, a dime --10 cents – was donated to the Red Cross. Customers could also donate money at the stores, and as an additional incentive, Superbrand would match a customer’s donation. Superbrand benefitted by attracting positive publicity which brought customers into the stores. And, because they already had a supply chain set up, they could get supplies to the Red Cross before FEMA showed up at the disaster area.” After giving his presentation, Jon was also required to answer a series of questions posed by the judges. For his efforts, he brought home a first-place trophy and a cash prize of $1000.
- Although he hasn’t made a definitive decision on where he wants to study after high school, Jon says he has his eye on two possibilities: the Stern Business School at New York University, or the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. “I think I’d like to go to a school in a big city,” he says, and adds that being a member of Parkland’s Political Science Club has afforded him the opportunity to participate in six Model U.N.s, including an Ivy League Model U.N. where he got to spend time at Penn. At Parkland, he’s also a member of the Scholastic Scrimmage team, with hopes of being one of the four to compete on television this year; a member of the National Honor Society and Math National Honor Society and the tennis team, a sport he says he plays as much as he can. He also tutors math which he “enjoys a lot” and is part of a “math internship” program established by his math teacher that provides extensive tutoring to students who need it. He also teaches French to second-grade students at Cetronia Elementary School. “The program is called Elementary World Language Education. It sets up high school language students with elementary kids to introduce them to the basics of the language. It’s a fantastic program that’s been running seven to eight years. I think the kids love it. I know I do,” he says.
- Outside of school, Jon volunteers at the DaVinci Science Center, helping with exhibits that require supervision such as the “Touch Tank” where youngsters can see and touch marine animals, including his favorite, the horseshoe crab. He also plays tennis at the West End Racquet Club and Oakmont Tennis Club and enjoys hanging out with his friends.
- Key to Awesomeness: “I think it’s my persistence,” he says. “Not a stubborn or headstrong persistence, but the kind where you don’t give up. I’ve had some disappointments, like not making the debate team, but I don’t let that stop me. I realize that I might mess up and fail [at things] but if I keep going and trying, everything will work out.”
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