Success in the business world is all about preparation and no one understands this better than the members of the Mercy BPA team.

With the Regional Conference less than a month away, the team is doing everything they can to prepare for victory. To ensure success, the members have been given detailed instructions on the category they are competing in. The girls are researching, reviewing past tests and details on the events, and are asking tough questions; they are preparing cover letters, resumes, and are following business protocols. Learning about these leadership and life skills places the team in a strong position to do well in certain areas.

“Any of the speech competition would go well because we have a great speech teaching staff, and they’ve had experience there,” said Ms. Eleasha Tarplin, who along with Mrs. Hallie Smith, is leading the Mercy BPA team.

“The Interview Skills could also be an area of strength,” added Ms. Tarplin. “We have a member that is competing in entrepreneurship; she has her own business and has had it for a while, so I think she has a good chance of potentially going to states.”

For Mercy girls this is not just a competition, it is learning about the professional business world.

“That is what makes BPA pretty exciting,” said sophomore Tomoe Miyazaki, secretary of Mercy BPA.

Miyazaki, who is looking forward to developing her leadership skills, also said that Mercy will excel in public speaking events.

“Since every Mercy freshmen is required to take a speech class, I feel Mercy students are a lot more confident,” said Miyazaki.

BPA club leaders believe that Mercy has prepared all of them in all areas they need in order to succeed, including how to give a fantastic presentation and write great papers.

“I feel like we have an edge that no other school has because of our dedicated moderators and teachers who taught us how to excel in the classroom, and also life,” said Katherine Perlman, Vice President of BPA.