From May 4 to May 10, students attended the national convention for Business Professionals of America (BPA) in Orlando, Florida. The theme was “Spread Your Wings,” and thousands of students from across the country gathered to compete, showcase their business skills and develop their leadership acumen.

“Forty-two students from the school qualified for nationals,” said Zachary Kanjirath, senior officer and historian of the club. “I personally did PC servicing and Troubleshooting, Administrative Support Research Project, and open events including IT concepts and Administrative Support Concepts. It was a big success for the team overall.”

The conference typically starts with a speaker to motivate the people who attend the starting ceremony. This year, a speaker named Josh Shipp spoke about how to lead properly.

“He talked about how if you want to be a leader, you need to connect with people on a human level,” said Meera Krishnan, senior officer. “The message that stuck out the most was that ‘Imperfections make us human, and humanity makes us influential.’ ”

When students weren’t busy with events, they were allowed to explore the area. They spent a day at Disney, did a service walk for Special Olympics and ate at the House of Blues.

“I think that it’s really cool that we were allowed to explore the area while we were there,” said Bernard Wong, senior. “It was my first time going to nationals for an event, and it made the experience all the more enjoyable.”

Below are the students who placed at nationals in their respective events:

Natalie Niesen—1st Place Digital Publishing, Finalist in Business Meeting Management Concepts

Rachel Wu—2nd Place Advanced Office Systems & Procedures

Brandon Counts—2nd Place Presentation Management Individual

Kevin Cai & George Gao—4th Place Economic Research Team

Lauren Cechinni—4th Place Human Resource Management

Morgan McLaughlin—6th Place Business Law & Ethics

Zach Kanjirath—Finalist Administrative Support Research Project Individual