“Prince William County Public Schools students earned impressive honors at the 2026 Virginia Future Business Leaders of America State Leadership Conference, with several advancing to the national competition in San Antonio,” PWCS reported. Top state finishes included first places for Drake Ludin of Charles J. Colgan Sr. High School in Hospitality and Event Management and Ameera Noor of Gainesville Middle School in Parliamentary Procedures, along with multiple second- through sixth-place awards across middle and high schools in events ranging from data analysis and marketing to entrepreneurship and public speaking.

At the national level, Eliza Ijaz of Freedom High School secured second place in Entrepreneurship—the first such finish for her school—while Autumn Cordell of Gainesville Middle School also took second place nationwide in Career Exploration, highlighting the strength of PWCS Career and Technical Education programs in preparing students for future business and leadership opportunities.

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