Quick Fingers On Keyboard Win National Business Prize Marissa Sprank Beat Competition At Orlando Conference

A Central Valley High School student took first place in keyboarding at the Future Business Leaders of America national conference last weekend in Florida.

Liberty Lake resident Marissa Sprank, 17, will be a senior in the fall. She defeated almost 50 other students who already were tops in their state to claim first prize.

The Orlando competition began last Friday, and awards were presented Monday night. The top 10 winners in each category were announced in descending order at the awards banquet, the suspense building to first place. Sprank expected to hear her name in the top 10, but not first.

“I was just waiting to hear my name and it didn’t get called until the end,” Sprank said. “I was honored, but I guess I didn’t feel like I deserved it because I didn’t practice for it or anything.”

Sprank, one of the fastest typists in her class, joined CVHS’ Future Business Leaders of America club this year at the urging of her typing teacher. But the champion keyboarder doesn’t plan to go into business. Instead, she said she’ll study medicine or science.

In the keyboarding competition, contestants are given seven documents to create on a computer program within an hour. Sprank completed six out of seven.

“It was real exciting,” said Jill Enevold, Central Valley’s FBLA coach. “One mistake and they throw out the whole thing. You know, zero.”

Sprank attended the conference with Enevold and two other CVHS students, Desiree Lockwood and David Johnson, the FBLA vice president for the northeast region of Washington state. Two other CVHS students qualified for the national competition but could not afford the $900 trip, Enevold said.

The CVHS business leaders group held fund-raisers, such as a car wash and sale to raise money for the trip, but still fell several hundred dollars short.

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