Kirtland Central High School will take 14 students to the National Leadership Conference in Dallas, TX on the first week of May. It is the first time taking over a dozen students in the Business Professionals of America program to nationals.

Business Professionals of America (BPA) is a national organization giving students skills in business management, information technology, finance, accounting office administration, and other business-related career fields. Students involved in BPA participate and compete in conferences, taking on different roles and projects with teams or as individuals.

Business Professionals of America has been in Kirtland Central High School for several years under the direction of Mrs. Lucero. Mrs. Bea Vasquez and Ms. Lynn Foster took over the program and were amazed at how productive and fluent the students were able to take on their projects.

Students recently competed in the state competition, in which nearly every student qualified for the national leadership conference. According to Justin Harrison in a work session board meeting last month, the teammates have an opportunity to place in the top 10 nationally in the national conference.

"The students and school could be recognized at a national level," Justin said. On the Business Professionals of America home website, there are about 1800 charters in 25 states, including Puerto Rico. "Even though we are a small school and district, it can show we can do it," Justin said.

If a student can place top 10 in the national conference, they could receive scholarships, according to Mrs. Foster. Partners of the BPA program offer scholarships to students in the torch ceremony after the competition. Nominations will select student of the year, volunteer service award, and much more.

Students qualified for the National Leadership Conference by placing first in their categories or open events. "If a student is disqualified in their project, there are opportunities to still qualify for state and nationals through open events," said Mrs. Vasquez.

On the day of the state competition, students encountered inclement weather, and the bus they traveled on did not depart until 8 a.m. When they arrived at the event, judges were immediately waiting for two students to give a presentation.

"We didn't know if we were going to make it, students were still in pajamas because we were supposed to leave early that morning," Mrs. Vasquez said. When the judges heard how the weather delayed the students for the competition, the judges negotiated to have them open their laptops and hurry to their places to give their presentations.

Judges in the competitions have strict rules in Business Professionals of America conferences. Mrs. Vasquez did not realize how crucial the students' projects needed to meet the guidelines after judging at a regional conference. "It's so cutthroat! The students could only receive three strikes, and they automatically get a zero."

Hearing some students place first and second place in their categories was not a relief but a rewarding experience for the teachers. Kalilah Deswood placed first in the category of Intermediate Word Processing and Jaiden Dee in Health Insurance and Medical Billing.