With Business Professionals of America (BPA) nationals ahead and months of preparation behind them, Wakeland students are pushing through a challenge most teams don’t face—building a competitive program from the ground up.

As a first-year chapter, Wakeland students entered competition without the experience or structure of more established programs—forcing them to learn events, expectations, and preparation on their own.

“I think the biggest challenge was with us being a first-year chapter,” said Khajan Singh, president and co-founder of the club.

“We had to start later than most of the other schools,”

“We had to start later than most of the other schools, and we had to figure out a lot of these things ourselves. So we had to just dive into the deep end and learn how to help these members out, what each event required.”

Despite that late start, the program is already producing results. Wakeland’s BPA chapter is sending multiple students to compete at the National Leadership Conference in Nashville, Tennessee, including first-place state competitor and ninth-grader Armaan Singh.

Students say reaching that level requires significant preparation and commitment.

“It is very rigorous work, but it’s always worth it in the end,” said Armaan. “We all work very hard and it is very rewarding to be recognized for our effort.”

The organization itself was created to address a gap many students experience when exploring future careers.

“BPA is a career and technical organization similar to DECA and FCCLA where students can compete up to the national level,” Khajan said. “Instead of just focusing on business or community service, we want to allow students to focus on different events and different career paths.”

“I saw the opportunities this could bring for our students,” said Khajan. “For example, I got to see my brother [Armaan] compete up to the state level and win first place there as a freshman in something he’s so interested in. That honestly brings me so much joy in seeing our students and club members be able to perform at things that they’re actually interested in and win awards.”

“That honestly brings me so much joy,”

For members, BPA extends beyond competition, offering opportunities to build practical skills and gain real-world experience.

“I joined BPA because it provides me the opportunity to learn more about financial avenues but also learn more about larger corporations and build those connections,” said Marianne D’souza, the financial category officer of BPA, who mentors students preparing for finance-related events.

“I participated in two BPA events. One was personal finance, where I was able to test my knowledge, and I did the presentation team event because it allowed me to work with two partners and create a presentation sharing information and awareness,” Marianne said.

Now, that impact is already showing results. Wakeland’s BPA chapter is sending multiple students to compete at the National Leadership Conference in Nashville, Tennessee, including first-place state competitor Armaan Singh and chapter officers.

“I’ve gained so many leadership and business skills leading this club since we had to figure out all the logistics on our own,” said Khajan Singh. “We took responsibilities without others telling us what we had to do, but rather figured it out mostly on our own.”

“We took responsibilities without others telling us what we had to do,”