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Oregon students participate in virtual state leadership conference

More than 1,700 students are taking part in the month-long online conference.

PORTLAND, Oregon — When the pandemic forced the closure of Oregon’s state leadership conference, students and organizers quickly changed course.

This year’s conference was supposed to be held in Portland in early April, but a few weeks before the event, plans had to be cancelled.

Instead, organizers created a virtual conference that will go through the middle of May.

“I was kind of looking forward to it this year, so it's a little bit sad. But it has been amazing to be able to do something at all in the middle of all this,” said Molalla High School junior Cypress Barrett. 

Barrett is also the student president for the Oregon chapter of Future Business Leaders of America. 

“Everyone is stepping forward to try to make it as great as it can be in the middle of all of this. It's been really amazing,” she said.

The students taking part in the conference are involved with organizations like FBLA; Oregon SkillsUSA; and Family, Career and Community Leaders of America.

“I can no longer count the number of high school seniors that would reach out and say, I lost graduation, I lost prom, I lost school. Everything in my world has been taken away. Thank you for not taking away my opportunity to be a student leader and to celebrate and learn and to compete and prepare for my future careers,” said Mike Oechsner, the Executive Director of the Oregon Career and Technical Student Organization.

During the conference, students will do presentations, challenges and network with some of the world’s top business executives and leaders.

Throughout the month-long event, students are also receiving awards for their accomplishments.

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