Senior Imiyah Weatherspoon is active in the Business Professionals of America and Metea community through DMMV. Whenever she’s not in involved at school, she’s running her own business.

What did you do this weekend for BPA?

This past weekend I attended the Business Professionals of America Illinois State Leadership Conference. In attendance were the 1,000+ top students from all across the state. After competing at the state level the top competitors in each event then proceed to the National competition held in Orlando this year. Metea had over 20 national qualifiers this year so I am very excited. However, the weekend was not all competition related, as there was also a game night, a banquet, and a dance!

What is your position in BPA?

In BPA I have two main jobs. On the local level, I am our schools chapter president. I work with Rachel Willy, Drew Friedlander, and Jonathan Anderson every week to plan and organize Metea’s chapter activities and accommodate our 150 members. I am also on the state officer team where this year I am the Vice President of State Projects, and last year I was the State Secretary. In this elected position I am in charge of planning a state auction held during SLC. I am proud to say this year we had over 100 items donated and purchased for the auction and were able to raise $3,440 to go to the Special Olympics from the auction alone.

How did you get into BPA?

During my freshman year, I took Business Orientation, and during parents orientation my teacher explained the club to my mother. At first I was really resistant to joining for two reasons. First, I wasn’t sure of anyone else who was in the club. And secondly, when I went to my first meeting, it seemed like I was the only African American or one of very few. However, since my mom already paid the fees for the club, I had to keep going. This was the best decision I could have ever made, and I am grateful for the push from Mr. Brusveen and my mother.

Do you plan on doing anything with Business in your career? And if so, how has BPA prepared you for that?

As far as future plans go, I am unsure of any particular jobs but I am going to school for business management with a co major in international business. I also want to attend law school post undergraduate school. Whichever career I choose, I know that BPA has helped me prepare for the business world by improving my ability to work with groups of people efficiently. With different backgrounds and ideas, team work can be a difficult task.  But after being on four teams in two years, I have learned to accept others ideas instead of always my own and how to truly collaborate. Although the internet is changing a lot of things for the world, communication is a skill that a person will always need.

What other hobbies do you have within or outside of Metea?

Aside from BPA, I also am a part of Do More Metea Valley. If you want to be around sincere people who achieve great things for the community, it’s definitely a club to check out. Photography is my outside-of-school hobby. Taking portraits of people over the past year has become my passion. As it starts to become warmer, I get more excited because I love outdoor shoots more than anything. I started a company called I. M. Photography almost exactly a year ago.