Five NY Mills students place in top 10 at state

Contributed photo
Brienna Honer, Bella Huwe, Audrey Weller, Annika Mursu and Lucas Johnston placed in the top 10 at the state BPA contest in Minneapolis last week. A total of 12 New York Mills students participated at state BPA.

A total of 12 students from New York Mills participated in the annual Minnesota Business Professionals of America (BPA) State Leadership Conference held March 6-8, 2025 at the Minneapolis Hyatt Regency with more than 1,200 members competing. 

During the school year, over 2,000 Minnesota BPA members took part in the organization’s competitive events program, allowing them to compete in nearly 70 events focused in the areas of finance, business administration, management information systems, digital communication and design, and management, marketing and communication. The competitions are designed to prepare students to succeed and assesses real-world business skills and problem solving abilities. After qualifying earlier this year, regional winners put their talents to the test during the State Leadership Conference. 

Students receiving state recognition include: 

Brienna Honer – Fundamental Accounting – fifth place

Brienna Honer – Payroll Accounting – third place

  This May, Brienna Honer will compete with thousands of top students from across the United States at the 60th Annual National Leadership Conference -the pinnacle of BPA competition. Members will travel to Orlando, Fla. in May. 

Other members coming close, called on stage, but not advancing:

• Audrey Weller, Advanced Spreadsheet Applications seventh out of 23

• Belle Huwe, Medical Coding eighth out of 31

• Lucas Johnston Spreadsheet Applications eighth out of 37

• Anika Mursu, Spreadsheet Applications ninth out of 37

• Aubree Salo, Spreadsheet Applications 10th out of 37

About Minnesota BPA

Business Professionals of America is the leading Career and Technical Student Organization for high school students pursuing careers in business management, office administration, information technology and other related career fields. The mission of Business Professionals of America is to contribute to the preparation of a world-class workforce through the advancement of leadership, citizenship, academic and technological skills. BPA enhances the preparation for college and careers by providing co-curricular programs that integrate into classroom instruction, apply learning, connect to business and promote competition. 

The Minnesota Secondary Association is part of a larger organization comprised of over 50,000 members from 23 United States and Puerto Rico. For more information about Minnesota BPA, please visit www.mnbpa.org.