Lincoln students take part in BPA competition

Lincoln high school students participated in the Business Professionals of America virtual regional competition Jan. 27.

BPA strives to "develop and empower student leaders to discover their passion and change the world," according to their website. Students who participate can explore professional and civic opportunities and learn real-world business skills including finance and management.

For the first time, middle school students from Lincoln also participated.

Lincoln's BPA President Lindsey Weisner is the only returning BPA student this year, said Lincoln BPA Advisor and business teacher, Laura Allen-Bullis.

"She has participated for the last three years and has become quite adept in her business skills over the years," said Allen-Bullis of Weisner. "Her excitement for BPA was a great tool in recruiting new members."

Weisner competed in several events this year that are new to her, including broadcasting and healthcare presentation.

The other BPA team members include senior Allen Walker, juniors Damion Birkholz, Jenna Templeton and Andrea LaManna, and freshman Trever Tolan, said Allen-Bullis. These students participated in interview skills and presentation management team events.

"We also started a middle school chapter this year, and it is the first year we have been able to do so," said Allen-Bullis. "That has been exciting, and a bit overwhelming. The MS students' excitement has been very contagious though, and this group is not afraid to try new things!"

Students who participated in the middle school level included Delia Tolen, Noah Barnett, Tahvo Lattin, Paige Gilbert, and Makena Copenhaver. These team members participated in events including website design team, digital game design team, human resource exploration, and promotional photography among others, said Allen-Bullis.

"This is the first virtual BPA competition any of us have participated in. Typically we go compete at the Missoula College which is a great chance for the students to see what the University has to offer," said Allen-Bullis.

Students who placed in the competition are qualitifed to attend the virtual State Leadership Conference in March.

"Although the students were not thrilled to have the competition virtually, overall they learned a lot from the experience, and received great feedback from the panel of judges around the state. These judges did a fantastic job of giving all of the students real-world experience feedback that allows the students to have a glimpse of expectations from the real world of business," said Allen-Bullis.

As one of the areas of competition, each of the high school students interviewed for a job at a fictitious company.

"After the interviews were conducted, the interviewers were able to talk to the students about how to improve their resumes, and how to work on answering questions that may have challenged them. Every single student that competed appreciated this advice and learned from it," Allen-Bullis said. "In the end, that's the most satisfying part of this opportunity that BPA provides. Watching the students grow with real-world experience, and getting advice from people in the industry that interests the students is invaluable."