What is BPA?
Business Professionals of America is a national organization for students interested in pursuing futures in business.
Nationwide, BPA has more than 51,000 members in over 2,300 chapters across 23 states. Northwest BPA is the largest student
organization at our school, with about 150 students involved.
How do I become a member?
Enroll
in a Butler Tech business class at Northwest and you are eligible to become a member of Northwest BPA for the entire year.
That's all there is to it!
What
can BPA do for me?
Involvement in BPA will be one of the most rewarding aspects of your business class.
Through this involvement, you will build lasting relationships, gain real-life skills, participate in competitive events,
develop leadership, connect with business people, and have opportunities to travel to conferences. You will also have many
chances to qualify for awards, recognitions, and scholarships through BPA. No matter what, you'll be able to find your fit
in BPA!
How can I take a leadership role?
Students are encouraged
to become involved in the leadership of BPA. Each of our business classes will elect representatives to the officer team of
Northwest BPA at the start of every semester (September & February). There are also executive officers who provide consistent
leadership for an entire year. The officer team works together to organize chapter meetings, plan activities, coordinate fundraisers,
and make sure that everyone gets involved. Every business class will be represented on the officer team:
BPA Representatives. Each business
class will elect 1 student as a BPA Rep per semester. These students will represent their classes on the officer team
for one-semester terms and will play an important role in guiding Northwest BPA.
Executive Officers. Overall leadership of Northwest BPA is provided by the executive officers
- President, VP, Secretary, Treasurer, and Reporter. These positions have full-year terms, lasting from February to February.
Financial Services students can run for executive officer positions in February of their junior year.
You can also run for State or National
BPA Officer positions. Ask your BPA advisor for details.
What about competitions?
All members are encouraged to participate in BPA regional, state, and national
competitive events. In fact, the WSAP Competitive Events program is the biggest cog of what makes BPA tick. Students prepare
for and compete in contests in over 50 categories, under the four broad topics of Finance, Information Technology, Administrative
Support, and Mangement/Marketing/Human Resources. Students begin with a Regional competition. The top qualifiers compete at
at State conference, and finally, those deemed the best of the best compete at the National Leadership Conference in April/May
of each year. Competitions range from individual to team, from objective tests to judged presentations. Each one helps students
prepare to be part of an effective, skilled national workforce.
So what are you waiting
for?
Get involved in BPA today!
"What I really like about this class is that we go on field trips to be more involved in BPA
and Financial Services. I cannot wait to be in here next year ..."
- Tony, Class of 2012
Chapter
Meetings
Get involved in your chapter ... come check out a meeting. Our
chapter meetings are held once a month in room 317 after school. These meetings are not required, unless you're an officer,
but you are asked to attend at least three of them a year.
"This class has made this year my best
year of school so far. I pretty much liked everything about the class ... I think that I will use a lot of this information
in life and I will look back and be grateful that you taught us this information."
- Dion, Class of 2012
