Michigan most competitive state in BPA, UP students fare well

ESCANABA– Around 328 students from across the U.P. suited up today to compete against classmates as well as peers from other schools.

Today was the 41st regional conference for Business Professionals of America at Bay de Noc community college. The event involved 12 different Chapters, with over 50 categories. Competitors presented in teams or individually to judges, using different mediums ranging from computers to scantrons. Judges are made up of professionals, who evaluate students based on presentation time and subject matter.

“My speech today was about the art of selling,” ninth grader from Escanaba High School Garret Johnson said. “I’ve always wanted to go into business, my dad is in business and everyone says hey hey you’re pretty good at business so I decided to try it and I kind of like it so far.”

But when it comes to winning, today is just the beginning of the competition. The top four students who competed individually move on to the State competition, as well as the top two groups.

“We had people from the U.P. that won in the Nation,” Regional Adviser for the Sault Area Career Center Diane Harrington said. “Michigan as a whole, Michigan is the most competitive state in the nation. We win the most top ten awards in the nation, and top three awards in the nation, consecutively.”

This year the State Leadership conference in March takes place in Grand Rapids.