Courtesy photo Stephenson High School students participated in the Business Professionals of America conference in Grand Rapids recently.

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Members of the Stephenson High School Business Professionals of America (BPA) chapter recently competed at the Annual Michigan Business Professionals of America State Leadership Conference in Grand Rapids.

The Amway Grand Plaza Hotel was the site of the conference, with computer contests held at Davenport University. The theme of this year’s conference was “Write the Next Chapter.”

Sixteen Stephenson students competed against the top Michigan BPA high school chapters in both team and individual events. Sydney Ebsch and Layla Engel served as Stephenson’s voting delegates in the election of the new state BPA officers. Accompanying the students to the conference were advisors Anita Casperson and Kelly Kim.

The awards session on Sunday was live streamed on the conference app and viewers were able to see SHS students recognized on stage.

Taking first place were:

Joelle Beaudo in Parliamentary Procedures Concepts

Parliamentary Procedures Team: members are Joelle Beaudo, Morgan Bergquist,

Griffin Brown, Faith Cappaert, Olivia Cappaert, and Luke Olson

Earning second place was:

Griffin Brown in Parliamentary Procedures Concepts

Third place award was earned by:

Faith Cappaert in Parliamentary Procedures Concepts

Fourth place was awarded to:

Luke Olson in Parliamentary Procedures Concepts

Alivia Johnson in Fundamental Spreadsheet Applications

Logen Olson in Advanced Spreadsheet Applications

Earning fifth place was:

Lilyan Wagner in Advanced Word Processing

Sixth place was awarded to:

Video Production Team: members are Tristan Kacynski, Canon Kuntze, Logen Olson, and Jonas Priebe

Seventh place was earned by:

Presentation Team: members are Ashton Grinsteiner and Kayela Putnam

Bridget Paidl in Interview Skills

Top students from Stephenson High School will be attending the national Business Professionals of America (BPA) conference, “Discover Your Purpose” in Anaheim, Calif., April 26 through 30. The Parliamentary Procedure Team as well as individual members Lilyan Wagner, Alivia Johnson, and Logen Olson will advance to competition at the national conference.

The Stephenson students will join other conference delegates from across the nation to participate in national level business skill competitions, workshops, general sessions, and the national officer candidate campaigns and elections. Besides having the opportunity to compete, they will experience the Anaheim area and have the opportunity to visit exciting sites.

The conference will be the culmination of a school years’ worth of business workforce education and training which members of the local chapter of Business Professionals of America have received.

To finance their trip to Anaheim, the Stephenson BPA members are fundraising and seeking donations from area businesses and organizations.

Business Professionals of America is a dynamic national youth organization that provides leadership and business opportunities for high school students to prepare them for their future careers. The organization’s activities and programs complement classroom instruction by giving students practical experience through application of the skills learned at school. The mission of Business Professionals of America is to contribute to the preparation of global professionals through the advancement of leadership, citizenship, academic and technological skills.