On Saturday Jan. 23, students from all grade levels got the opportunity to compete in the BPA regional conference at Medina Valley High School against 17 other schools, where16 students from Holmes or Business Careers won the right to advance to state competition in Corpus Christi in March.
Business Professionals of America, BPA, is a national organization available to all Business Careers students, which also has competitions tied in with it, giving students the opportunity to demonstrate their skills learned from their chosen academy, such as IT (information technology), Business Management and Finance.
“Joining BPA gives you an opportunity to prove that you have actually learned what we taught and you can apply it in what simulates a work environment so it’s a competition but it is not real life,” BPA sponsor and adviser, Diana Johnston said.
The opportunity to compete against like-minded people gives the students the chance to experience work-place scenarios without the high pressure that is often found in real life events, such as job interviews. Organizations such as this also gives students insight for their future careers in the business world or to think of other possibilities as a result of their experience.
“BPA for me is so much more than an extracurricular activity,” Chapter President, Kat Flipse said.
For some, organizations like BPA might go under-the-radar, but they often teach you many skills beyond the competition. It teaches you confidence, leadership and presenting skills and is a chance to meet other students from different schools that you might’ve never gotten the opportunity to meet.
“I like the nervous feeling [of competition], but as soon as you finish you get the sense of relief because now you can relax and you get to hang out with your friends and you don’t have to worry about it because it’s over,” senior Josh Fernandez said.
The regional conference is an all-day event, from around 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Most of the morning the students spend their time competing, whether in their individual event, team event, or in open events (which is where anyone can join to pass time and gain other awards, though you can’t advance to state in open events). In the afternoon the judges spend their time grading the tests and presentations until around 6pm, at which time their is an award ceremony announcing who will advance to state.
“I couldn’t contain my excitement, I’ve worked so hard for two years and I can’t wait to compete again at the state level,” Flipse, who placed first in legal office procedures, said.