MOORPARK : Students Sweep Business Contest

On Thursday evenings, when other high school students might be playing sports, watching TV or doing homework, Jordan Sickman and three classmates have been practicing parliamentary procedure.

Their efforts to learn the ins and outs of running a meeting according to Robert’s Rules of Order paid off when Jordan’s team won a March 14 competition against high schools from Ventura, Los Angeles and Santa Barbara counties.

The Moorpark High School chapter of Future Business Leaders of America swept the competition, placing first in parliamentary procedure and 11 other categories ranging from business English to computer applications.

The 16-member chapter will represent the three-county Gold Coast section in the state tournament, which starts April 30 in Irvine.

Jordan acknowledged that parliamentary procedure may not sound like fun.

But he said it is not so different from other extracurricular activities.

“It’s just like any other sport except it’s a mental sport,” he said.

But Jordan and other members of the student business group also said they think they are more serious than many of their classmates.

“We don’t go home and watch MTV,” Jordan said.

The students said they are preparing for their future at the same time that they are having fun.

The business, math and computer skills used in the annual competitions will directly help the students in their careers, said Joyce Keefer, coordinator of the Moorpark High School chapter.

Winnie Kwan, 16, said that belonging to the group makes the future “tangible.”

“It seems like we’re so young,” she said. “And, yet, the future’s so close at the same time.”