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.
Students in Intro to Financial Services, Intro to Accounting, and Intro to Business will need to pay a $5 membership fee (this
fee is already included in the Financial Services course fee). 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. Here's how it works: you choose team or individual events that interest you, prepare for your competitions,
and see how your skills match up with students at other schools. Competitive events include such things as entrepreneurship,
small business management, global marketing, video production, website design, MS Office, plus many more!
So
what are you waiting for?
Get
involved in BPA today!
"BPA is a great organization to be a part of. You'll have fun, you'll learn new and important
things, and you'll feel like you're part of a big family. Of course, people in the class argue, fuss, and fight like any family
does, but at the end of the day, we're all part of the BPA family."
- Jerry, Class of
2011
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.
"I learned so much from this class and
from BPA. I went places I never thought I would go, I did things I never thought I would do in high school, and it's all because
of this class."
-
Jordan, Class of 2010
