Jose Villarreal is a sophomore who is currently in FBLA (Future Business Leaders of America) and Poetry UIL.
“What mostly made me get involved in these activities is mostly my friends. They encouraged me to be more outgoing and less nervous when it came to public speaking,” Villareal said.
The main challenge he has faced with these extracurriculars is social anxiety.
“I’d say I’m very timid, so I easily get nervous or even scared when presenting in front of people. But I’ve gotten better with practice,” Villarreal said.
In FBLA, he has gained skills like leadership, money management, and time management.
As for poetry, Villarreal gets out of his comfort zone, lowering any social anxiety he might have in specific scenarios.
“While it is difficult to keep up with my extracurricular activities, my teachers make it so much easier by being lenient with work,” Villareal said. “I also have to sacrifice a lot of my free time to catch up on work I may have missed.”
The person who motivates Villareal is both his FBLA and poetry sponsor Jennifer Garza. She has made him more confident in himself and has generally improved Villareal as a student and person.
“I personally believe that it will be worth it in the end. Not only do I get to experience a journey with FBLA, but I also improve my social skills, a skill that will be essential in my education,” Villarreal said.
While his career might not involve a lot of public speaking, it will definitely have a lot of interactions with other people. He believes that by the time he graduates, he won’t be the same timid freshman he once was.
