Business Professionals of America (BPA) is a club that is mainly focused on entrepreneurship and financial knowledge. Members actively attend meetings and prepare for events such as “Financial Literacy,” “Digital Game Design Team,” and “Entrepreneur Exploration” at the SLC (State Leadership Conference), which is coming up soon this year. If they do well at the SLC, it propels them to the National level. The founder of the Middle Level Chapter at Clague is Huron High School senior and Huron BPA president, Anirudh Venkat.
The Chapter at Clague is brand-new, having started only last year. Venkat initiated the chapter because he noticed a severe lack of business related opportunities and exposure for K-12 school students in Ann Arbor.
“For science, you know, you have all these Science Olympiads, but there’s nothing really that talks about business and gets students involved in that,” said Venkat. “And as you get into college and beyond, that starts to become a huge thing. And I feel like the earlier you develop a business acumen, I feel like that positions you to be that puts you at a bigger advantage going forward.”
When asked about what the members of Clague BPA are doing to prepare for their events, Venkat stated, “We have a list of competencies for each event provided by the National BPA. Students are reviewing each competency, and we’ll conduct mock tests in the coming weeks.”
Vihaan Sharma, a member, shared, “I prepared using the competencies on the guidelines for my event. I studied for the mock tests this way, and identified areas to improve in.”
Venkat elaborated on their preparation methods, saying, “For presentations, we’re going to have them give mock presentations sometime within the next few weeks. For practical events like video game design team or prepared speech, I’m having them submit their work early for feedback.”
Priyam Chowdhury, another member, explained, “I prepared for my event, Prepared Speech, by writing it out and memorizing the key points. I submitted my speech to Venkat beforehand, and he gave me feedback on what to improve on.”
With many members having already gone to Nationals and dominating the competition because of their extensive practice, their expectations are already higher than from last year.
“In Video Production Team, I hope we can properly present to the judges, and in my other event, Financial Literacy, I hope to get to Nationals,” said Sharma.
Amit Vuppala, a fellow member, shared, “In my first event, Graphic Design Promotion, I hope to do well and impress the judges, as I have been practicing for months. In my second event, Prepared Speech, I studied really hard so I have high hopes for the SLC.”
Judging by the preparation and expectations that the members of BPA have, it’s safe to assume that the members of BPA are going to do a phenomenal job at the SLC this Friday.
Best of luck, Cougars!
