Business Professionals of America chapter loaded up 11 students onto vans, and officially hit the road to Des Moines. The vans were driven by AJ Leman and Joe Wilcox, the BPA advisors, headed to Sheraton Hotel, where every BPA chapter in the state would be competing. The club took home three medals total, two qualifying for the National Leadership Conference.
This marked the first year that City High’s BPA qualified for state.
“After a rebuilding year, this is exactly the kind of momentum we hoped to see,” Leman said. “The students committed themselves to growing the program, and qualifying for nationals shows that their effort paid off.”
The past few weeks the club spent every Thursday prepping for their events they would be participating in for state. Students studied, practiced presentations, and went through potential test questions. The students were not only preparing for their events but also fundraising; they spent their lunch periods selling cookies to make the trip to state.
Leading the chapter this year are President Ramy Makawi ‘26 and Vice President Rito Perez ‘26. Under their leadership, the chapter has been rebuilt due members graduating. Makawi and Perez were able to recruit new members and lead them to state. For many of the competitors, this was their first time experiencing BPA at this level.
“I’m really proud of the way we came back from almost nothing,” said Perez. “This was our first year going back to state in a few years, and now we have the first two students in eleven years to qualify for nationals. It’s exciting to see the club grow and already start seeing success.”
For many competitors, this was their first experience at the state level.
“I was pretty surprised and I am excited for the chance to compete in nationals,” said Zevi Frank ‘28
Frank won first place in the Python programming event and third place in Banking and Finance, qualifying for the National Leadership Conference twice. This was his first year participating in BPA.
Amiraldin Mohammad ‘26 also found success at state. He won 3rd place in Python and placed outside the top five in several open events with large pools of competitors.
“I’ve started programming with my brother since the age of 8. I’ve learnt a lot of different programming languages of the year, and going into that competition, I already pictured myself winning.”
This is the first time in 11 years City High’s BPA has had students qualify for the National Leadership Conference.
With multiple national qualifiers and a growing membership, the chapter looks ahead to next year. The club will be led by an executive board made up of current juniors who competed at state, continuing to build on this year’s return and success.
