The Charter School of Wilmington’s BPA chapter continues to demonstrate excellence, teamwork, and leadership at a statewide level with 57 students qualifying for the National Leadership Conference.
Charter students excelled across a wide range of technical and leadership events, from public speaking and website design to medical terminology and financial analysis. In individual competitions, Adya Hazarika took first in Health Insurance and Medical Billing, Surya Mohankumar in Advanced Spreadsheet Applications, Arnav Madini in Computer Network Technology, Leonard Dong in SQL Database, Samika Kulshreshtha in Health Research Presentation, Anusha Sarwadi in Prepared Speech, Shlok Bhavsar in Presentation Management Individual, Nikita Iyer in Graphic Design Promotion, and Saanvi Donuru in Administrative Support Research.
On the team side, first-place finishes went to Administrative Support Team (Nicole Chee & Emilie Kang), Global Marketing Team (Niharika Addagada, Yatika Bhardwaj, Nikita Iyer, & Sanjana Thottempudi), Website Design Team (Ridhun Gujja, Saanvi Donuru, Nirmal Praveen, & Ishan Punnaivanam), Small Business Management Team (Anaya Pinjani, Anvita Yadala, & Saanvi Baddam), and Financial Analyst Team (Edward Chen, Hugh Nguyen, & Ian Sim). Beyond first place, many other students earned top three and top five finishes across both testing and in-person events, contributing to one of the chapter’s strongest years at states.
Among the conference’s competitions was the state leadership election, in which Elaine Guo, Anaya Pinjani, and Nikita Iyer advanced to the final round of voting. Elaine Guo ultimately won the election, becoming state president, ready to lead our state to the national conference in Tennessee!
Ms. Clough, the BPA advisor, saw the work that went into the results firsthand. She described preparation as a very collaborative process, with students getting a great opportunity to work together, leading up to States. “I saw a lot of kids working in teams, giving them a great opportunity to collaborate with their friends,” she said. As a new advisor, navigating the process came with its own learning curve. “The biggest challenge is just getting started,” she said, emphasizing that deciphering the competition instructions alongside her students turned out to be a meaningful experience in itself. What struck her most, though, was how seriously students took the competition once they arrived. “I felt so proud of the kids. It’s a fun trip, and I had a lot of fun, but I also felt really proud of how they really showed up for the competition, more than just the fun.”
Assistant Principal Ms. Berger, who chaperoned the conference, described the experience as both inspiring and eye-opening. “I thought it was a great experience. As an administrator, I got a new perspective on how the students work in their extracurricular activities,” she said. She was particularly struck by how students handled pressure, noting that the students running for a state officer position only learned about the details of their speech the night before and still delivered excellently. “They prepared really quickly to adapt to their new audience and did really well,” she said. That same spirit carried through the chapter as a whole. “The way our students conducted themselves and how they were helping each other really stood out,” Ms. Berger said. For a chapter she described as potentially the largest in the state, that cohesion was especially notable. “It’s great how we all work together despite our size and limited resources,” she added.
One moment that captured that spirit for Mrs. Clough came when she watched a group of juniors and seniors present a project they had built from the ground up. “They built this beautiful presentation, with these wonderful models, and graphics,” she said. “When I listened to them presenting, I could just see their future. As a business teacher and someone who’s been in business my whole life… I would be so happy to hire someone like them.”
Additionally, this year Elaine Guo won State Officer President. Mrs. Clough said she was the perfect candidate. “I’m so proud of her… because she’s just so geared towards being a leader, not just because she wants to be one, but because she genuinely cares and wants to make it easier for everyone. She notices the small issues that others might overlook and always addresses them proactively.”
Beyond the awards, Ms. Berger reflected on what the conference revealed about student dedication. “We learn, and we grow,” she said. “It makes me want to put more effort into allocating resources to these clubs.” Her closing thoughts summed it up well, “Congratulations to all the students who made it to nationals, but regardless, the experience itself is a great thing to have, and as long as you have something that you can take away, that’s amazing!”
Congratulations to all of our wonderful BPA students, and good luck to the chapter at Nationals!
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