On Thursday, Feb. 23 and Friday, Feb. 24, Hinsdale Central’s Business Professionals of America (BPA) competed at state in Oak Brook. Around 60 members competed and many placed highly in their respective areas, with 25 who will move on to nationals on April 26-30. 

BPA allows for members to participate in a diverse array of business fields. Each person can select one or two that interest them the most from a list such as graphic design, health administration, coding, interview skills, finance, business law, marketing etc. This diverse quality to the club is what attracts so many students from all different grades. 

“Among the six overall events, there are 60 sub events that students partake in,” said Ken Shum, BPA sponsor. 

At state, competitors participated in a variety of testing including standard multiple choice, evaluation tests, and presentational events. 

“I chose to compete in Health Insurance,Medical Billing and ICD-10 Medical Diagnostic Coding,” said Sheza Shafi, junior. “As someone who is interested in going into a healthcare related career, I knew gaining knowledge on health insurance would be helpful to know in the long run.”

According to members, BPA is a great way to practice useful and impactful skills for the future, and competitions as such provide an opportunity for club members to show off the skills they have been practicing. BPA also has student mentors to guide smaller groups with techniques to prepare and practice tests. 

“I prepared by practicing coding and working on mock problems that were similar to past competition prompts,” said Samir Keswani, junior mentor. “I made sure to network with other members and participate in volunteer opportunities to get more involved in the organization.”

To learn more about BPA and its endeavors at nationals from April 26-30, see here.