Triton BPA crowns state champion

Triton Business Professions of America (BPA) crowned a state champion, three national trip winners, and 11 top 10 finishers at the State Leadership Conference on March 5-7 in Minneapolis.
Triton had 17 members qualify to compete against more than 1,700 other students from across Minnesota at the State competition. 
Senior Cory Utech made school history as the first state champion, competing in and winning the Visual Basic Programming Event. Along with Utech, Colton Majerus placed second in Fundamentals of Web Design and Logan Green placed third in Visual Basic Programming to punch their tickets to the National competition.  In total, 11 Triton members graced the stage at the Grand Awards Ceremony to receive special recognition and awards for placing in the top ten of their events.
“I’m so impressed with our students’ drive and dedication,” said Triton BPA Advisor Rebecca Goossens. “I’m jazzed to have our first state champion, and I’m so, so proud of how all our members represented Triton—I am very lucky to get to work with such amazing people!”
The students qualified for the state competition earlier this year by competing individually and in teams. At the state competition, they put their talents to the test against winners form eight other regions throughout the state and were required to demonstrate their skills and abilities through tests or projects in a variety of areas including accounting, computer applications, graphic design, video editing, web design, legal and medical procedures, information technology, entrepreneurship, human resources, and public speaking.  Industry leaders and business owners with real-life experience judged the contest events, where the top five individuals, top three judged individuals, and top two teams from each event earned trips to Nationals. 
“In the long run, BPA prepares us to be productive citizens that give back to our community,” said Utech. “You have a chance to meet new people [in BPA] and make new friends within our school, state, and nation.” 
This May, Utech, Green, and Majerus will travel to Washington, DC to compete with 5,500 top students from across the United States at the 2020 Annual national Leadership Conference – the pinnacle of BPA competition.
TRITON BPA STATE CONFERENCE RECOGNITION & AWARD WINNERS:
(*National Qualifier)
*Cory Utech – Visual Basic Programming – State Champion
*Colton Majerus – Fundamentals of Web Design – 2nd Place

 
*Logan Green – Visual Basic Programming – 3rd Place
Talia Kelley – Graphic Design – 5th Place
Connor Kleinwort – Business Law & Ethics – 7th Place
Chloe Staub – Entrepreneurship – 5th Place
Broadcast News Team – Talia Kelley and Kaitlyn Krupa – 6th Place
Video Production Team – Mariel Faber, Kailey Ellingson, Makena Jensen, and Natalie Robinson – 9th Place