Prairie High School’s Business Professionals of America (BPA) chapter made their mark in Chicago at the National Competition May 10-14. A delegation of 21 students represented Prairie among 5,000 high schoolers from across the nation and world. Prairie’s national qualifiers competed in 40+ events, which culminated in six members making an appearance on the national stage.
Congratulations to 2024 National Conference Competitors: Ansley Barnes, Ella Beach,
Ella Borders, Anna Cariveau, Savannah Chase, Addie Clark, Charlie Degroot, Tracen Dixon, Nash Hayek, Sophia Johnson, Hudson Kimm, Miles Koopman, Laura Linebaugh, Elsa Marxen, Ella Nove, Nick Schmitz, Emma O’Brien, Corryn Rausch, Rithvika Sivrakapash, Emery Smith and Kelsey Taylor
Prairie looks forward to taking another highly qualified delegation to State next February with the goal of competing in Anaheim at the National Conference in May 2025.
Business Professionals of America is the leading CTSO (Career and Technical Student Organization) for students pursuing careers in business management, office administration, information technology and other related career fields. Prairie’s chapter is the largest in the state and advisors Kim Hynek, Mary Gudenkauf and Caleb Rheingans led 70+ members in Des Moines at February’s state competition. “While traditionally we do well at state each year, it is much more difficult to earn an appearance on the National stage,” said Hynek. “Prairie students work hard to make that happen and have come to recognize and appreciate the skills and knowledge gained from BPA participation which helps them in whichever career path they choose.”
Additional individual events included; Entrepreneurship, Fundamentals of Accounting, Fundamental Spreadsheet Applications, Word Processing Skills, Graphic Design, Banking and Finance, Administrative Support, Economic Research, Medical Office, Digital Publishing and Virtual Media Promotion. Additional team events included; Financial Analyst, Global Marketing, Video Production and Administrative Research, Computer Animation, Presentation Management, Economic Research, Website Design and Small Business Management.
This year Prairie’s chapter included two State Officers; Vice President Kelsey Taylor and Corryn Rausch, Historian/Reporter. “Prairie students continue to seek elective classes because we understand the importance of career-readiness for our futures which will be filled with global competition,” said Taylor. “I think we’d all agree our participation in BPA positions us to better understand how to present before large groups, work in teams and manage our time among the very busy lives we lead.” Prairie remains active in the 2024-2025 State Leadership Officer Team as Corryn Rausch, Class of 2025, was elected State President in February. She will assume her duties this summer..
BPA has 50,000 members in over 2,300 chapters in 23 states and the addition of Mexico, China and Canada. BPA is a co-curricular organization that supports business and information technology educators by offering co-curricular exercises based on national standards. The Workplace Skills Assessment Program (WSAP) prepares students to succeed and assesses real-world business skills and problem solving abilities in finance, management, IT and computer applications. It is BPA’s showcase program and facilitates students demonstrating their career skills at regional, state and national conferences in 72 competitive events.