COVINGTON — Kayla Mitchell, Garret Fraley, Gavin Fraley, Caleb Miller and Kody Nelson of Covington High School will be participating in the Business Professionals of America (BPA) 2021 Virtual National Leadership Conference on April 26 through May 9. These students will join nearly 6,000 conference delegates from across the nation to compete in national-level business skills competitions and attend virtual leadership development, workshops, general sessions, and national officer candidate campaigns and elections.

“Each year, the National Leadership Conference offers students the opportunity to showcase their skills and compete against other students from across the country, and be recognized for their dedication and hard work they have put forth through the year,” said chapter advisor Kristi Homan, who teaches Technology Education at the high school.

Last year was the first year students had the chance to participate in the BPA club at Covington. As a junior, Mitchell competed in the Prepared Speech event and earned a top place finish at regionals; the boys also finished first in their Administrative Support Team competition, as sophomores, advancing them all to the state leadership competition in Columbus. Unfortunately, that experience never happened as COVID-19 shut down the event just days before. This year, all five students came back more passionate than ever for a chance to succeed after a chapter was unclosed last year, Homan said. They all placed again in their events of Prepared Speech and Administrative Support Team qualifying them for the state, and now, the National Leadership Conference.

“The students have worked hard to be successful and I am grateful their passion for success and hard work paid off. Unfortunately, their opportunity for the NLC is still not normal since it is a virtual event, due to COVID-19 restrictions,” Homan said. “However, it is great that they are able to have the opportunity to participate,” said chapter advisor Heidi Anderson, who teaches Business Education at CHS.”

Business Professionals of America is the premier Career and Technical Student Organization (CTSO) for high school, college, and middle school students preparing for careers in business, finance and management information systems and other related fields. The organization’s activities and programs complement classroom instruction by giving students practical experience through the application of the skills learned at school.