Members of Blue Earth Area’s Business Professionals of America are pictured above. They are, front row, left to right, Grace Hanson, Brooklyn Rosenau, McKinley Hanson, Isabel Vargas, Alexis Thompson, Carol Schrader, Sophie Hall, Emily He. Second row, left to right, Natalie Schiltz, Elaena Schiltz, Abbey Lorenz, Aubrey Woodwick – chapter secretary, Ava Petersen – chapter vice president, Amelia Greff – chapter president, Reed Sturtz – Chapter Treasurer, Taylor Ripley, Kennadi Hubly, Erin Prescher. Third row girls, left to right, Grace Schavey, Saturn Valenti, Sidney Eitzmann, Ruby Allis, Abigail Greff. Row four boys, left to right, Jose Salazar, Marcus Eckles, Cole Becker, Devin Haase, Michael Vaske, Jacob Murray.

Blue Earth Area’s Business Professionals of America organization, now in its ninth year of existence, continues to thrive in preparing students for careers in business, finance and IT.

BEA’s BPA consists of 43 students this year.

“We are smaller this year than last year,” BPA advisor Holly Vogltance says. “But we graduated a large number of seniors last year.”

The BEA BPA competes in Region 3 which is the largest, or second largest, region in state.

“A total of 353 kids competed at the Region 3 contest in January,” Vogltance comments. “There are over 2,396 BPA members in Minnesota. BPA has been around since the 1960s.”

The Region 3 BPA contest was held on Jan. 7 and once again, a large number of BEA BPA students, 29, qualified to advance to State which is scheduled to be held March 5-7.

To advance to the State BPA competition, an individual has to finish in the top seven in a category where the contestants take tests. If an individual is competing in a category that is judged and includes interviews and/or presentations, they have to finish in the top three. Likewise, if students are members of a group competing in a team competition, they must also finish in the top three to move on to State.

Five of BEA’s BPA students have experience competing at Nationals.

Carol Schrader is a senior who has qualified to go to State four times and Nationals twice.

“I qualified in Heath Insurance/Medical Billing and Medical Coding at Regions this year,” Schrader comments. “When I started BPA I was fortunate to receive a lot of encouragement from the upperclassmen.”

And as a senior, she has a deep appreciation for what BPA has done for her.

“BPA has given me the opportunity to dip my toe into the professional world,” Schrader shares. “It has helped me learn and develop more skills.”

Junior Aubrey Woodwick earned a trip to Orlando, Florida last year to compete in Nationals and she hopes to qualify for Nationals again this year.

“I will be competing at State in Business Law and Ethics,” Woodwick remarks. “I feel better prepared this year. I have had more time to study and I have learned that hard work pays off.”

Grace Schavey is another BEA student who hopes to make a return trip to Nationals this year. She finished first at Region 3 in both Advanced Accounting and Payroll Accounting.

“Much of the training I need for those categories comes from the classes I take in school,” Schavey shares. “I also have spent some extra time studying for the competition.”

She says she is a big fan of BPA and encourages others to give it a try.

“You have nothing to lose,” she comments. “And you gain knowledge and experience you can use later in your life.”

Another past Nationals qualifier is Amelia Greff. In addition to competing, Greff is also the Region 3 president and the BEA chapter president. She is competing in Legal Office Procedures and Advanced Accounting.

“One of my most fun moments in BPA was going to Nationals last year,” Greff says. “While it was fun, I was a little nervous when it came time to compete. But it was a great experience.”

Another senior, Ava Peterson, shares that being in BPA has helped her figure out what she wants to do in terms of her career.

“I have learned a lot through BPA,” Peterson says. “It has led me to possibly want to work in a lawyer’s office. BPA has also helped me build friendships – not only with kids from other schools but with kids from BEA.”

Peterson will be trying for a return trip to Nationals while competing in Advanced Accounting and Legal Office Procedures.

Reed Sturtz will also be competing at State while looking to earn his first trip to Nationals.

While a member of the Parli Pro Team, Sturtz reveals he is most excited about competing in the Health Insurance/Medical Billing category.

“I have had to learn about those things mostly outside of school,” he comments. “I am really looking forward to State so I can reconnect with people I met at State the previous year. Being a part of BPA provides its members with a great way to network which is very important in today’s world.”

Vogltance takes great joy in watching her students.

“I am amazed at the growth I see in individuals. They learn to work with others and they develop leadership skills,” she says. “Those are things they will take with them when they leave school.”

Her love of the BPA program and the students is one of the reasons she continues to teach.

“I enjoy seeing the kids be successful,” Vogltance concludes. “That is really what it is all about. It is about the kids and their accomplishments.”