Mayo High School sent fourteen individuals to compete against the best in Minnesota for Business Professionals of America, also known as BPA. This year’s event, the State Leadership Conference, was held in Minneapolis on March 14th through the 16th for the third year in a row. BPA is the leading organization for students pursuing careers in Business. The fourteen Mayo Spartans went up against the best in Minnesota for different business concepts with a goal to go to Nationals in Chicago. The Mayo students worked tremendously hard since the fall with Mrs. Priebe, the BPA leader, to get to where they are now.
The BPA members who attended the state competition include (l-r) Front row: Natalie Hurt, Alaina Ripley, Annika Ohashi Berg; Back row: Liam Butterfass, Tony Dunn, Milan Gupta, Axel Tinajero, Will Smith, Kellen Burger, James Prunty, Sammy Shao.
Schools from across the state competed in a wide variety of events. Mayo had a few team members competing in the Small Business Management category including Tony Dunn, Liam Butterfass, Will Smith, and James Prunty. Another team competing in that category was Alaina Ripley, Annika Ohashi Berg, Ana Medina and Milan Gupta. The Small Business Management teams had a prompt they have to follow about a business owner. The teams were asked to find solutions that would help the business generate more wealth. Each team had to create a slideshow and present it to judges in a 7-10 minute time span.
Competing for the Personal Finance category, Sammy Shao, Liam Butterfass, Tony Dunn and Tej Bhagra had to take a test covering principles of interest, investing concepts, tax numbers, and income-related items. Although these financial areas are very challenging, they are extremely relevant. “I feel like I use personal finance concepts in my everyday life, especially for what I am buying and my investments and my retirement account,” Tony Dunn said.
After dominating in the Personal Finance test, Sammy Shao proudly displays his first place trophy.
In other areas, Kellen Burger, Natalie Hurt and Annika Ohashi Berg took a test for Accounting. Annika Ohashi Berg took second place, so she advanced to Nationals. Then, in the area of Desktop Publishing, Axel Tinajero took fifth place, which also sent him up to the National competition. The Desktop Publishing event consisted of creating three flyers, digital advertisements, and logos for Businesses in under an hour.
Also, Zia Raukar competed in the Financial Analysts category, while Tom Sella took 5th place in the category called 555 Presentations Individual.
The experiences that BPA members enjoyed provide insights into their potential futures. Many people who took the tests or were part of the group projects will pursue a future in Business; in fact, it is the leading reason why people join BPA as a club. Tony Dunn is solely in BPA because he sees himself with a future in Financial Advising, and he believes it will give him a good introduction into those endeavors. Liam Butterfass believes “competing in Small Business Management tests and taking the Finance test will only make [him better for his future].”
Make sure to congratulate all of these successful Spartans, and if you would like to start your journey towards financial success, join BPA through Mayo’s Club Hub, or see Mrs. Preibe today.
All photos courtesy of Pam Priebe
