Twelve students represented College of Western Idaho (CWI) at the 58th Annual Idaho Business Professionals of America Leadership (BPA) Conference returning home with an impressive 31 top-five awards — 15 of which were first place.
Idaho BPA Conference, held Feb. 23 – 25 at Boise Centre on the Grove, presented an opportunity for CWI BPA members to develop leadership skills, personal and professional growth, and career-related competencies. Those who attended were able to take part in conference workshops, state officer elections, Workshop Skills Assessment Program, and compete against others from around the state in various Workplace Skills Assessment Program events.
Awards from the competition are decided through skills (judged) and written test (objective) competitions. The students achieved scores and were awarded medals if they placed in the top five for an event and were honored with plaques for 1st place.
CWI took part in Feb. 24 competition events, which were geared towards post-secondary education students.
2023 Idaho BPA Conference Awards
- First Place Awards
- Banking and Finance — Bryson Bailey
- College Accounting — Bryson Bailey
- Computer Network Technology — Cameron James
- Computer Security — Spencer McConnell
- Device Configuration and Troubleshooting — William Young
- Linux Operating System Fundamentals — Spencer McConnell
- Systems Administration using Cisco — Nate Gaddy
- Network Design Team — Sarah Ives and Stanley Ward
- Personal Financial Management — Bryson Bailey
- Prepared Speech — Roger Johnston
- Presentation Management Team — Baiden Jones, Ethan Maze, and Spencer McConnell
- Server Administration Using Microsoft — William Young
- Second Place Awards
- Advanced Spreadsheet Applications — Roger Johnston
- Computer Network Technology — Nate Gaddy
- Computer Security — Roger Johnston
- Linux Operating System Fundamentals — Stanley Ward
- Server Administration Using Microsoft — Baiden Jones
- Third Place Awards
- Computer Network Technology — William Young
- Computer Security — Ashley Furr
- Device Configuration and Troubleshooting — Ethan Maze
- Linux Operating System Fundamentals — Cameron James
- Network Administration using Microsoft — Ashley Furr
- Fourth Place Awards
- Computer Network Technology — Sarah Ives
- Device Configuration and Troubleshooting — Andrew Carrillo
- Network Administration using Microsoft — Andrew Carrillo
- Fifth Place Awards
- Computer Network Technology — Ethan Maze
- Computer Security — Baiden Jones
- Device Configuration and Troubleshooting — Sarah Ives
“The students who participated in BPA Idaho State Leadership Conference this year excelled in all their competitions,” said Cybersecurity Professor and the advisor for CWI’s BPA chapter, Linda Otto. “At the beginning of the conference, I had several students state they would not be going to nationals as they believed they were not good enough to win at the state level. They were wrong about that and proved it by trying anyway.”
“Receiving these awards is already having an amazing impact on their self-esteem and confidence,” she continued. “I am so proud of every one of them and excited to see them take the next step by proving their abilities at the National level.”
All 12 CWI students who took part in Idaho’s state competition move on and compete in the National Leadership Conference in Anaheim, California, in April.
For those who are interested in learning more about CWI’s BPA chapter, please contact Linda Otto at lindaotto@cwi.edu.
