Ponca City High School Student Recognized at the Business Professionals of America National Leadership Conference in Chicago

One High School Student from Ponca City High School Business Professionals of America (BPA) chapter were among the 6,500 attendees representing nearly 800 school chapters who attended the 2024 BPA National Leadership Conference in Chicago, Illinois, May 10-14.

While in Chicago, students vied for top honors in BPA’s Workplace Skill Assessment Program competitions, which cover the areas of business administration; digital communication and design; finance; health administration; information technology; and management, marketing and communication. Conference participants also attended professional development workshops, received awards for community service activities, and elected BPA’s 2024–2025 national student leadership team.

The student from the Ponca City High School BPA chapter who attended the National Leadership Conference was Andi Massey. Andi competed in the Human Resource Management event, served as a secondary voting delegate representing Oklahoma, attended leadership breakouts, and participated in several community service projects. Ms. Sharee Madsen, Ponca City High School Assistant Principal, participated in conference activities and assisted Andi in preparations.

“BPA allows students the opportunity to gain professional and leadership development while being exposed to the business industry to help navigate future career choices. I am excited for Andi to continue to lead our local chapter with National experience.” said Julie Funkhouser, BPA Advisor.

“Participating in the National Leadership Conference is the culmination of a year’s work for our student members and their advisors,” said Dr. Steven J. Mitchell, BPA’s Executive Director/CEO. “We applaud all of these members who demonstrated workplace skills in competitive events, gained new insights by participating in workshops, earned valuable industry certifications, or were recognized for individual or chapter achievements.”

While in Chicago, participants also had opportunities to network with other BPA members and business leaders, visit famous attractions in the region, and participate in several community service activities honoring the Special Olympics, BPA’s national service project.

The 2024 National Leadership Conference was presented by Certiport, a Pearson VUE business, the leading provider of certification exam development, delivery and program management services.