Business Professionals of America (BPA) will compete at the regionals competition tomorrow at Plano West to qualify for the state level in team and individual events.

Members worked on their events since the beginning of the year in preparation, along with other tactics.

“This year, we started off by having a mock presentation night, so everyone actually presented their projects in front of a panel of judges and teachers and got advice,” BPA President Josh Mallavaram said.

Along with the preparation, students deal with new skills while learning how to manage a business in the process.

“We each learned different things, because each of us picked different competitions to participate in,” freshman Sahithi Kasa said. “However, as a whole, I think we learned how to work together as a team and make decisions with successful outcomes.”

There are 30-40 events in BPA, and students are allowed to choose which ones they are interested in.

“During competition, we are given challenges that we solve by finding solutions to them through what we have been preparing over the year,” Kasa said.

Former BPA member Manu Kondeti feels BPA not only makes students think in a businesslike manner, but also helps them act like real businessmen/women.

“Because I was in BPA for a while, I learned a lot about professionalism and it helped me become a better businessman,” Kondeti said.

Kondeti advanced to nationals last year and felt it was a great experience.

“I had a great time at nationals,” Kondeti said. “I was able to go to Anaheim, California. I made a lot of friends and I placed third nationally.”

BPA Advisor Jerry Burks said that based off of previous performance and leadership, she expects a lot from the students.

“I have very high expectations for this group of kids,” Ms. Burks said. “I think they’ll do very well. They have done awesome in the past years at competition. We have had many students, groups or solo, actually do well in State, and some even went to nationals.”

According to Kasa, BPA students have been working on their performances frequently and thoroughly over the course of the first semester.

“I feel confident that my team will do well,” Kasa said. “I know that there will also be other great teams out there and I can’t wait to see the competition atmosphere.”