BPA Goes to State

BPA+Goes+to+State

Last week Lakeland BPA club went to state down in Boise on Feb. 23-25. 

BPA is run by Jodi Nelson, who is a computer apps teacher.

Nelson says they did great, but she thinks that there should have been a little more preparation.

“Overall, the students did great. I do think there should have been a little more beforehand preparation, but there are a lot of competitions, and there were a lot of first-time students, so they did not really know,” Nelson said. 

BPA stands for Business Professionals of America. This is where you can compete in business-related events at a regional, state and national level. You can compete in events while participating in workshops and torch awards. 

BPA has the torch awards. The torch awards are designed to promote professionalism and leadership in both career development and personal growth. Students complete activities in the seven Torch categories: Leadership; Service; Cooperation; Knowledge; Friendship; Love, Hope, Faith; and Patriotism – then log their activities in an online Torch Résumé.

Madeline Davis, Jade Freitas, Zoe Hanna, and Quin Graff all qualified for torch awards.

When it came to the national qualifiers, four students placed in it.

Jade Freitas placed fifth in Advanced Spreadsheets.

Matthew Wirtz placed second in Financial Math and Analysis.

Ryan Genteman placed first in Management, Marketing, and Human Resources concepts.

Erik Gordillo placed second in Personal Financial management.

Brady Hanna is a senior this year and explained how he thinks BPA is an excellent opportunity for any student, no matter their background.

“BPA was definitely fun. I did not do as well as I thought I would. I will say that BPA is a great stepping stone for any high school student because it can really open you up to any career opportunity,” Hanna said.

Not everyone who is in BPA qualifies or wins, but they still have fun.

Noah best is a sophomore and decided to try BPA for the experience. He said that BPA is a great way to help you in school cause it makes you think in more ways. 

“At state, I participated in tests, I didn’t place, but it was still a great experience,” Best said. 

Best also said that it was a lot of fun down there.

This is something that Best genuinely enjoys and encourages. 

“BPA to me means Big Party Association because it was so much fun, and you did not have to worry about anything,” Best added.