Metea Valley’s BPA program sent over fifty students to the Illinois State Leadership conference in Oak Brook, Illinois. Fifteen students qualified to attend the National Leadership Conference, and as a group, they collectively earned the Illinois Association Professional Cup.

“BPA state was really fun for all of us because we strengthened our communication and leadership skills while building personal relationships with people from different schools,” senior and national qualifier Adithya Raghu said. “Competing was fun, but I learned about the different perspectives that people have about business.”

With almost 50 students representing Metea, in multiple individual and group events, BPA members not only experienced the competitive side of business but also learned about the growing fields in business itself.

“They first chose what aspect of business they wanted to explore, whether it was accounting, interviews, or creating your own business plan. Through the process of research and learning about the field, they began to understand if that field was interesting to them,” BPA supervisor Patrick Brusveen said. “Our goal was for the students to see how complex and interesting business could be, and the awards and recognition the kids received justified their hard work.”

While only 15 students are moving on and attending the National Leadership Conference in California, it is clear that every student that attended the statewide conference learned something valuable about business as a whole.

“I think what I learned and what others learned from the attending state is that everyone in business has to be dependable and persevere through challenges,” Raghu said. “BPA state is so fun to attend but when it comes down to how you improved as an individual, I think I learned that preparation is really important.”

Within Metea, the emergence of business clubs and courses like BPA, VEI, and marketing has given many students the opportunity to explore the business world. In a similar sense, BPA state gave students the freedom to explore and entertain different approaches and business plans.

“I think students who are pursuing business should be creative and not afraid to trying different things,” Brusveen said. “In almost all BPA events, there are guidelines and rules they have to follow, but these rules are very broad and with all great businessmen and women, thinking outside the box and outside the norm is key to success.”

By Nirmal Mulaikal