West Burlington, IA- Four students from Southeastern Community College’s Computer Club, and five from its Business Club earned top ranks at the 2023 National Business Professionals of America competition held last month in Anaheim, California.
The BPA is the top career and technical student organization for students pursuing careers in business management, office administration, information technology, and related career fields.
This year was the biggest event on record with over 6500 participants.
SCC students competed against 2 and 4-year colleges from around the US and Canada in several categories including Personal Financial Management, Prepared Speech, Computer Security, and Web Design.
Computer Club members Kyle Shores, Jacob Shores, and Crystal Timmerman, all from Burlington, and Gary Brownlee of Warsaw earned 16 honors and certifications combined at the National competition. Each of the four placed in the top 10 of at least one event and also came home with several certifications.
Business Club members Piper Cole, Burlington, Corwyn Gaines, Burlington, Chloe Jones, Ft. Madison, Aidan Pealer, New London, and Pattie Poling earned 13 awards and certifications combined.
SCC network administration and cyber security instructor, Brenda Wamsley, is the co-advisor of the Computer Club.
“I can’t tell you how proud I am of these students and, for the first-year students, how excited they are to go again next year to Nationals in Chicago, IL.” Wamsley said. “Their success here is just a stepping stone to greater things.”
Business program coordinator Trisha Hopper says that while the ultimate goal is always to earn top honors in competitive events, students benefit from the sum total experience of the entire trip.
“We ate at new places, hung out at the beach, shopped on Pacific Coast Highway, went to Disney Land, earned plaques and medallions, and built our business networks,” Hopper said. “Most impressive is how these students represented SCC in putting their skills and knowledge to the test.”
