On Saturday, May 7, students from TBP’s Pafford campus chapter of the Business and Professionals Association (BPA) earned national recognition at the BPA’s National Leadership Conference held in Dallas on May 4-7 at the Hilton Anatole Hotel and Convention Center. In March, the group of six 8th grade students advanced to nationals in this, their inaugural year, to compete against other middle schoolers from across the country in their respective competitions.

“The students have worked incredibly hard to get to this point, so their dedication and perseverance cannot be understated,” College and Career Readiness teacher and Co-Advisor Destiny Alberter said.

In the Digital Citizenship competition, in addition to the competitive test over internet safety, Nicholas Vazquez took the industry standard IC3 Digital Literacy Certification GS6 Level 1 test at the National level. Vasquez earned his certification in Digital Literacy and placed 14th nationally.

The Presentation Management Team of Kaleb Clark, Emely Aviles, Galilea Moran and Aidan Loera were tasked with choosing a passion project and creating a presentation requesting funds for their project resulting in the team placing 7th nationally.

In Graphic Design Promotion, Isabella Sanchez was tasked with choosing a theme for next year’s National Leadership Conference in Anaheim, California and developing a flyer and logo, then pitched her design to judges, resulting in her placing 7th nationally.

“A huge thank you to our administrators, front office staff, and teachers for helping make this happen. Our students could not have represented Pafford at the National Stage if it weren’t for everyone coming together,” Instructional Coach and Co-Advisor Christine Clemson said.