A total of 35 students from Odessa and Permian high schools will participate in the state Business Professional Association March 2-5 in Fort Worth.
OHS will have 16 students and PHS, 19. They will join more than 3,400 conference delegates from across the state to participate in state level business skill competitions, general sessions and the state officer candidate campaigns and elections.
They can also sight-see while they are there.
Students from the Texas Association’s Regional Leadership Conference in San Angelo have qualified to participate at the state level conference, a news release said. The conference stresses business workforce education and training which members of the local chapter of Business Professionals of America at Permian have received, the release said.
OHS Career and Technical Education teacher Brittany Molinar said students are prepared with interview skills, presentations, business management, PowerPoint and many others.
Alicia Dominguez and Michael Horton also are CTE teachers and advisors.
“We’re super excited for the kids. They worked really hard. We started preparing in November, December. We competed in regionals in San Angelo, Jan. 21. We took 16 students and they all made it this year to state competition,” Molinar said.
She added that she doesn’t know what the secret was, but the students worked really hard.
“They were studying. They were preparing before school, after school. They would even come during their lunch,” Molinar said.
Competition was virtual last year due to COVID and OHS didn’t participate.
“I think they were just eager this year,” Molinar said.
McKenzie Harris, a 16-year-old junior, is in her first year with BPA. She said she is excited and kind of nervous to make it to state, “but mostly excited.”
Brittany Galindo,a 17-year-old senior in her first year with BPA, said Molinar used to coach her in dance and coached her right into the organization.
“I was very proud of myself, yet shocked. I think it was really cool to see that I made it with all my friends,” Galindo said.
She added that it is extra special making it as a senior.
Kenya Olvera, a 17-year-old junior also in her first year with BPA, said she wants to go into the medical field.
“It’s exciting,” Olvera said of making it to state.
She said she felt Business Professionals would help gain experience for the world outside school — and it has.
Ann Kennedy, CTE Department head/Business Education teacher, is taking 19 students to Fort Worth. They usually take 40 or 50, but COVID changed that.
“Last year, they did it all remote and so we ended up with just five students. This year, we feel like we’ve come back quite a bit,” Kennedy said.
Even though they are headed to Fort Worth with fewer students than they usually do historically, Kennedy said the organization always attracts “really good kids that are willing to go above and beyond what you’re doing in the classroom. …”
To qualify, Kennedy said, there are 55 different contests from financial and accounting to payroll accounting. There are also computer contests in Microsoft Word, Excel, Advanced Excel, Java and many others.
From the regional competition in San Angelo, the top two in a judged event go to state and in a tested subject, the top four go to state.
State will be in Fort Worth and from that the top five in a tested event will go to nationals May 4-8 in Dallas and in a tested subject, it’s the top two.
Along with the contests, Kennedy said the students can attend sessions to get information on college and will likely go to the Fort Worth Zoo and the mall.
“… There six advisors going and we have to proctor the testing and grade the test. All of us are required to do that when we go, as well. A lot of times, we have kids that are doing presentations, so we’re watching them do their presentations and practice and get ready for their individual contest,” Kennedy said.
Kennedy added that the skills students learn in BPA are useful for when they enter the workforce.
Kyler Fife, a 17-year-old senior at PHS, said he has been in BPA for three years. He didn’t take part last year.
“I think it’s a very exciting experience, as well as somewhat overwhelming because you want to be prepared. You want to do great, but also you’re just grateful to be there and have the opportunity to compete with others who made it there, as well,” Fife said of going to state.
Fife is competing in personal financial management, so he will take a test on finances. He also is on the economic research team where they will talk about inflation and the issues the federal government is having with it.
“I just really enjoy the professional environment. You get dressed up in professional clothes. You go and you talk to judges and you take a test. It’s almost like it provides real-world experience for what life is going to be like after high school … It just gives you a new sense of professionalism that you might not get in high school,” Fife said.
Swetha Kesavan, a 17-year-old senior, joined BPA as a junior. Her sister was in BPA and her sister and Kesavan’s friends also wanted her to join because they thought it would be a good organization.
“BPA has helped me a lot with things that I wouldn’t normally learn outside of school with finance and accounting,” for example, Kesavan said.
Kesavan will be competing in economic research team with Fife.
“Basically what this event is about is we give a speech and we had to write a six-page paper over inflation due to COVID,” Kesavan said.
