Six Business Professional & Office Technology and Broadcasting & Video Production students recently competed at the Business Professionals of America (BPA) National Leadership Conference in Chicago, Illinois. BPA is the premier CTSO (Career and Technical Student Organization) for students pursuing careers in business management, information technology, finance, office administration, health administration and other related career fields. Globally, BPA has more than 45,000 student members in over 1,800 chapters spread across 25 states, Canada, Puerto Rico and beyond. These competitions give students the opportunity to showcase their technical skills while performing in a high-pressure setting. This year, 6,500 student delegates representing 800 school chapters competed in over 100 skills events.
Polaris took home numerous honors at the national competition. Sophia Solomon, a Berea-Midpark High School freshman in the Broadcasting & Video Production program, finished in fifth place in the Multimedia and Promotion Individual challenge. In this event, students had to create a one to two-and-a-half-minute digital promotional video highlighting a local non-profit that is attempting to bring awareness to a new demographic. Her non-profit was Berea ARF (Animal Rescue Friends). Currently, they market to local businesses, but they would like to expand their marketing to the larger community.
Two Business Professional & Office Technology students brought home fifth place in the Financial Portfolio Management Team event. During this simulation, the students were given $100,000 to invest in stocks, mutual funds and/or bonds. As national qualifiers, they also presented their investment strategies to a panel of judges. The Polaris team consisted of Olmsted Falls seniors, Anya Dobos and Jessica Wolanin. In addition, Anya and Jessica won “best in show” with their conference display, as determined by judges and student attendees.
Three Broadcasting & Video Production students at Berea-Midpark High School, Pax Bodenmiller, freshman, Andrew Merritt, junior, and Brooke Patton, sophomore, took sixth place in the Multimedia and Promotion Team Competition. In this event, the students had to host a three to five-minute cooking show for “Click Productions” featuring a new kitchen item of their choice. Team members were required to discuss the features, benefits and impact of how this item would help in the kitchen, including its pros and cons.
Andrew Merritt also competed in Digital Communication and Design Concepts and placed 11th. During this event, he was assessed on his knowledge of web design, animation, digital media, desktop publishing and coding.
Congratulations to all our competitors! Your hard work paid off!