Seeley-Swan student attends Business Professionals of America National Leadership Conference in Chicago

When Hattie Batchelder was a freshman, she had no idea what BPA was. She just wanted to participate in more clubs. She thought it was some sort of after-school class with a focus on business that was just a Montana thing.

After four years of participating in Business Professionals of America, Batchelder's learned, competed and traveled to two national competitions, one in Anaheim, California - where Batchelder and friends placed eleventh in the nation in a podcasting category about an episode they made on Ben & Jerry's ice cream - and most recently Chicago, Illinois where Batchelder was the solo Seeley-Swan High School representative.

Batchelder was among the 6,500 attendees representing nearly 800 school chapters that attended the 2024 BPA National Leadership Conference in Chicago, Illinois, May 10-14.

While in Chicago, students vied for top honors in BPA's Workplace Skill Assessment Program competitions, which cover the areas of business administration, digital communication and design, finance, health administration, information technology, and management, marketing and communication. Conference participants also attended professional development workshops, received awards for community service activities and elected BPA's 2024–2025 national student leadership team.

Batchelder competed with 55 other students from around the U.S. in the Presentation-Individual event. She had to research the benefits of studying abroad during college, prepare a seven to 10 minute multimedia presentation and present to judges. Batchelder also participated in the Virtual Photography Promotion event and Seeley-Swan High School's BPA chapter was recognized with a Quality Chapter Distinction award.

Batchelder said her studying abroad presentation didn't go as well as she'd hoped, but she was still glad to have been able to go to Chicago, proud of herself for making it that far and grateful for what BPA has brought to her life.

"It's made me get better at talking to new people and being in new environments and just going out of my comfort zone," Batchelder said.

Michele Holmes, Seeley-Swan High School BPA advisor, said, "BPA provides an important role at SSHS for students to learn and compete outside of our local area and even state. I love the unique opportunities that BPA provides for students like Hattie. She has been an integral part of our program since her freshman year and I am so glad she got to participate in this Chicago trip and all it offered."

While in Chicago, participants networked with other BPA members and business leaders, visited famous attractions in the region - including museums, parks and a Lake Michigan boat tour - and participated in several community service activities honoring the Special Olympics, BPA's national service project.

"Participating in the National Leadership Conference is the culmination of a year's work for our student members and their advisors," said Dr. Steven J. Mitchell, BPA's Executive Director and CEO. "We applaud all of these members who demonstrated workplace skills in competitive events, gained new insights by participating in workshops, earned valuable industry certifications, or were recognized for individual or chapter achievements."

Additional reporting and writing provided by Keely Larson