SAND COULEE — Students from Centerville's Business Professionals of America (BPA) Chapter will be headed to Anaheim, California to attend the 2023 BPA National Leadership Conference.
BPA is a premier Career and Technical Student Organization (CTSO) for middle, high school and college/university students preparing for carerers in business and information technology. BPA provides opportunities for growth through education, competitive events, leadership development and community service. The organization has more than 46,000 members in schools in the United States and China.
The four Centerville students headed to nationals are:
- Mathew Stawinski - Junior
- Nevaeh Bishop - Junior
- Keaton Cavill - Junior
- Reagan Nikolakakos - Junior
The conference will bring together an estimated six thousand delegates from across the country to vie for top honors in business and information technology skills and competitions, attend leadership and professional development workshops, receive awards for community service activities and elect BPA's 2023-2024 national student leadership team.
"I just had this feeling that we were going to win this, and when i hopped up on that stage with my team members, I was more than happy to get that award," said Nevaeh Bishop.
The project was in podcast format. Students said they chose from a top 10 list that was given to them. For their project, they decided to create a game show on their top 10 favorite computer board keys.
Reagan Nikolakakos explained the process of planning out their project.
"It took us a few hours of prepping out our script, and then we had to record the entire podcast. We had to find our equipment and our studio. We had to edit the entire thing afterwords and craft the presentation for our project, and then we spent multiple hours practicing through our presentation, and re-going over our podcasts."
Mathew Stawkinski says he and his team have something to prove as they head their way to nationals.
"Getting second place gives us a lot of motivation going to nationals," he said. "Especially coming from a small school. Typically, a small school like this doesn't get an award like this, so we're going to show what a small school can do at nationals."
While in Anaheim, participants will also have opportunities to network with other BPA members and business leaders. They will also visit famous Southern California attractions and participate in community service activities.
Felicia O'Brien, Business Educator and BPA Advisor at Centerville stated, "I'm proud of my students. They've worked very hard on this project. They made it through state, and now they're headed to nationals where they will compete against kids from across the nation. I wish them the best of luck and hope they do well."
The Conference's opening session will take place on April 26th, and the awards ceremonies will be on April 28th and 29th. It can be streamed live online at www.thinkcybis.com/bpa-live/.
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