St. Louis High School’s Business Professionals of America state qualifiers attended the 53rd annual state leadership conference from March 13, through March 16, 2025.
Business Professionals of America or BPA, is a career and technical student organization providing students and members with skill development and the opportunity to make personal connections. In order to make it to the state conference, members must place in their regional competition and then prepare to compete again at the state competition.
Landon Pestrue and Sophia Miller both placed in Economic Research Individual in 5th and 6th place respectively; while Skyler Post placed 7th for Interview Skills. Unfortunately, none placed high enough to qualify for the national competition.
BPA advisor Andrea Biehl stated, “We had a lot of first-time members attending the state conference this year. It is always fun to watch new members experience the conference for the first time. It was also the first year I have advised without Mrs. Reeves as my partner. I had a great time like always! This year’s group was a lot of fun. I am disappointed in my third-place laser tag finish but still had a nice time at Craig’s Cruisers. I am very proud of the students and how they represented SLHS at the conference, just maybe not in the pool.”
Senior Landon Pestrue shared, “From my experience, this year’s conference was very fun to be at aside from the competition. However, I wasn’t the happiest with my placement after the awards ceremony. I wish I would’ve gotten third place or better so that I would have had the chance to attend BPA nationals. Being a senior, I will miss being able to attend BPA every year. It’s honestly one of my favorite high school experiences in general; being able to meet so many new people and try new things out every year is what I’m going to miss the most. I wish it didn’t have to end.”
