Recently, two students and two teams from the Delaware Area Career Center competed in several Business Professionals of America national competitions.
Hannah Peterson, a junior at the DACC, competed in the graphic design promotion competition and placed ninth out of 52 national competitors.
“I had to come up with a logo design and a poster design promoting next year’s National Leadership Conference,” Peterson said. “So I had to come up with a theme for the conference and a graphic that matched with the theme. We had a couple months at the beginning of the school year.”
Peterson said the BPA competition was “tough” because only students that got first at regional competitions and first or second at state competitions were eligible to take part in the national competition.
“I learned a lot in the whole process. I learned how to work within a time crunch and how to create a design from start to finish with sketching and brainstorming and concepting,” Peterson said. “It was a really great experience. A really great thing to be a part of.”
Peterson said she wouldn’t have made it as far as she did without the instructors and environment at the DACC.
“I think it was the encouragement from my teachers and the people in my class,” Peterson said. “It’s a very encouraging environment.”
Peterson said she’s looking forward to competing again next semester.
“My goal this year was just to make it to state, and since I made it to nationals, I’d like to make it to nationals next year,” Peterson said. Peterson said only one other DACC student has ever made it to nationals twice, and she hopes to be the second.
“It’s a really amazing opportunity,” Peterson said. “I’m extremely grateful to be a part of something like this. I’m just glad that I’ve had these opportunities at the career center.”
Ryan Dolan, an Olentangy Orange student studying networking at the DACC, took home second place in a field of 65 competitors in the national BPA PC servicing and troubleshooting competition last week. At the competition, Dolan had to take a written test and then he had a short time to diagnose and repair a computer issue.
“I wasn’t expecting it, and I wasn’t sure,” Dolan said. “I was among other very talented people.”
Dolan said he got second place in the state competition last year and seeing his grandfather’s reaction was the best part.
“He was the happiest I’d seen him in ages,” Dolan said. “He was as happy as I was receiving the award.”
Dolan said between the state and national competition, his grandfather passed away, so he felt like he was competing in nationals for him.
“I won it for him,” Dolan said.
Digital Design instructor and BPA officer Josh Gallagan said he was proud of both students and how hard they worked to get to the BPA competitions. Gallagan said 14 students went to nationals this year, which is the most he’s ever taken.
“I’m so proud of these kids,” Gallagan said. “The students here are some of the best I’ve ever worked with. The bar keeps getting higher each year. These students are not only some of the best in Delaware county but the best in the country.”
