ESCANABA, Mich. (WZMQ) – On Friday, more than 200 students from 11 high schools took part in the Business Professionals of America (BPA) Regional Competition at Bay College.
“We have over 60 competitions that students from all over the U.P. are competing in,” said Cheri Lehto, Escanaba High School business teacher and BPA advisor. “They are across business and marketing, speeches, interviews, broadcast news team, website design, computer applications.”
Individuals and teams were evaluated by a panel of judges.
“A lot of the criteria is professionalism,” Lehto explained. “Professional dress, how they handle themselves in front of a group of judges, attention to detail, handing in the proper paperwork when they go in, being prepared and not counting on their slides, being confident.”
The students put a lot of hard work into preparing for the competition.
“Lot of late nights practicing, going over it, making sure I have all the right things,” said Escanaba senior Taylor Forvilly. “With my team event, making sure that we can get together. We’re all so busy with school and work and our personal lives that it’s hard to get together and get it done.”
They say the experience has opened up new opportunities for them in the future.
“I never thought I would go into business until I did BPA, and then I was kind of like, ‘Oh my gosh, I really like BPA,’ so maybe I would be interested in something for business,” said Escanaba senior Adelia Kang. “It has also exposed me to a more professional environment and I feel like I have a lot of connections where if I wanted to do something in business, I could definitely find something very easily.”
The top students and teams will move on to the BPA State Conference in Grand Rapids in March. Win or lose, Michigan BPA State Historian Abby Walther says Business Professionals of America truly equips students for life after high school.
“I have met so many people and learned so many very important skills,” she said. “It has been one of the most influential experiences in my life, being able to just network with all of these amazing people and have so many great mentors.”
Click here to learn more about the Michigan Business Professionals of America.
