The St. Louis Business Professionals of America crew took a trip to Grand Rapids, where they competed at the state competition.
With the competition being harder than ever, it was challenging for people to place in their respective events. Although the competition was tough, quite a few members represented St. Louis BPA on the podium. For the individual placers, Gracie Lombard took sixth in Administrative Support Research and Lillie Thayer also placed sixth in Presentation Individual. Additionally, the Presentation Team took sixth place and was composed of Dominick Girard, Lucee Mikek, and Jaiden Dickman. The Broadcast News Team consisted of Natalee Hoyt, Ben March, and Ava Frost, and they took fourth place.
Lombard stated, “I was really happy about placing because, after my presentation, I wasn’t sure how I was going to place. Placing at all is a huge accomplishment! I really like BPA and I think it is a great experience. You can get a lot out of it and going to the state conference was a great experience.” Lombard is only a sophomore and she has already placed twice at the state conference. Additionally, Hoyt, who made her third and final appearance at the state conference, stated, “I was pretty happy with placing fourth. I wasn’t expecting to place at all, but it was pretty cool to see how all the hard work paid off.”
Not only was the conference about competitions, but there was a little fun involved as well. Members could go to a dance and even explore the city of Grand Rapids. Lombard mentioned that her favorite activity was the dance while Hoyt stated, “My favorite part was hanging out with everyone in between competitions. I got to know more about people I don’t always get to talk to at school.”
The amount of work the members of BPA put into their events shouldn’t go unnoticed, and they will be back to work next school year.
