PERHAM — Despite being the very first year the activity was offered, four Perham students qualified to compete at the National Leadership Conference for Business Professionals of America (BPA) in Anaheim, California : Angelina Nicholas, Isaac Paurus, Jaxon Bain and Quincy Anderson.
Nicholas, Paurus and Bain plan to attend the competition, not only to represent their town nationally but also to earn some professional experience. However, the school needs some help raising funds for them to attend.
"This is such a great opportunity for students to experience real-world skills that are transferable to any career," said Heather Stohs, Perham High School computer/business teacher and BPA advisor. "They are representing Perham on a national level, and these young people will go into the workforce to give back to their communities as well."
While this will be a great opportunity for the young students, it's not cheap for them to attend, Stohs explained. The cost per student is about $1,500 each, including competition registration, hotel and flights. Since three Perham students will be attending, that would make the total cost somewhere around $4,500.
Though they have about half of the funds raised, they still have a bit to go before the students head out to the competition on Wednesday, April 26. Once the students arrive, they'll attend an opening ceremony, which Stohs said will be an exciting introduction to nationals. From there, each student will spend Thursday and Friday competing in preliminary competitions.
ADVERTISEMENT
Final rounds are scheduled for Saturday, and the Grand Awards Ceremony is that Saturday evening. They plan to return to Perham on Sunday, April 30, though Stohs also hopes to take the students on a few noncompetitive activities while they're in California, such as Disney, the beach or even a tour of Hollywood.
"It’s very exciting to have students qualify for the national BPA competition in our first year," Stohs said. "I wasn’t really sure what to expect from competition as a new chapter, and the Perham BPA students were impressive!"
Since, as Stohs pointed out, BPA is new to Perham High School this year, they haven't had much of a chance to raise funds yet. While they've had a lot of support from community businesses when it comes to competition mentorship, they're now also in need of financial support to attend the competition.
To donate toward or sponsor their attendance, reach out with questions to Stohs at hstohs@perham.k12.mn.us.
"Providing these students the opportunity to compete at a national level allows them to realize their potential and learn from many new students and professionals," Stohs said.
The Trust Project
