Business Professionals of America club members, senior Evan Cadenhead, senior Jair Diaz, junior Coolsjes Singhvi and senior Mason Warlick claimed the top spot at the Minnesota Personal Finance Decathlon. They earned a spot at the state-level case study competition on April 25 where they competed to develop a budget and financial plans for a family where they placed 4th. This outcome allows them to proceed to nationals on May 10.
The BPA club is a nationwide organization that has over 45,000 members and 1,800 chapters. Competitions cover a variety of areas including finance, business administration, management information systems and digital communication, provides students with real-world experience. Through a range of learning opportunities, professional development and community service initiatives, BPA equips students with valuable skills and insights into real-world challenges.
The decathlon includes a variety of tests such as a 30-question multiple choice and a team case study. Nationals are next as a result of their successful performance at the state competition. They will do another case study and another test to determine their national score and ranking.
“It was quite stressful because we had an hour and a half to complete a case study in which we presented soon after to a group of people with financial expertise,” Warlick said.
To prepare for these competitions, topics are generally released a few months before to allow time for students to prepare. Students are responsible for working on their projects into their school year.
“We try to put in a couple of hours each week designing some things, coming up with sub-concepts, like trying to prepare a slideshow or think about how we’re going to explain this. at least like two to three hours a week and then obviously when it comes to the competition, it’s more around that time,” Coolsjes said.
Students use their creativity and concepts that are practiced at club meetings. Along with filling in tax brackets, multiple choice questions, programming, or advanced banking and finance, some of the categories include a design component.
This year’s prompt for regionals was to promote the “Detroit auto show that is going to be happening in May.” The User Experience Design Team was tasked with “designing a website, app, and an Instagram page that would effectively promote the event,” Coolsjes said.
Last year, business teacher Philip Schut left as the advisor of BPA. No one applied, leaving Sanjay Singhvi, advisor and parent of two BPA members, to take on the club’s needs. If he had not stepped in, the club would have been forced to shut down. Due to this change in leadership, BPA lost many of its members resulting in a smaller club. However, the size has not stunted the success of BPA, and they welcome all new people to come and join.
“Anyone can join and anyone can win. If you put in the work it will pay off. We are more than happy to have you here,” Sanjay Singhvi, parent advisor of BPA, said.
BPA aims to help individuals discover their passion and change the world. They provide many opportunities for learning, professional growth and service.
“It’s a good learning experience. I want to major in finance and economics. So doing BPA allowed me to have more experience and explore more of these concepts while doing it with friends,” Warlick said.
