Nearly 100 Business Professionals of America students throughout Frisco ISD are competing in the BPA State Leadership Conference in Dallas Wednesday through Saturday with the chance to advance to the national competition in Orlando in May.

“They have to place in the top two for judged events and the top 5 in non-judged events in order to advance to the next level,” CTE teacher Kip Bledsoe said in an email reply. “Our region is the biggest region in Texas and it is a great accomplishment for our students to advance to state.”

With 43,000 members in over 2,300 chapters in 23 states, BPA is a competitive endeavor.

“This organization benefits the students in that it teaches what professionalism is in the workplace,” Bledsoe said. “It also teaches them leadership skills and how to prepare for certain career skills through competition.”  

Students competing at state expect it to be a challenge.

“It was a pleasant surprise to hear my name called when they were announcing the results,” Rohith Perumalla said. “What I expect when I go to state is to be challenged. But I’m also looking forward to meeting students that share my passion for programming and maybe even learn a thing or two from them.”

Below is a list of students who competed in BPA regionals, event, placing and state qualification:

Akash Baskaran – SQL Database Fundamentals – 6th Place (State Alternate)

Ryan Hall – Computer Security – 1st Place (State Qualifier)

Nicholas Lovan – Network Administration Using Microsoft – 1st Place (State Qualifier)

Rohith Perumalla – Visual Basic/ C# Programming – 5th Place (State Alternate)

Manav Sood – PC Servicing & Troubleshooting – 6th Place (State Alternate)

Catherine Yan- C++ Programming – 1st Place (State Qualifier)