With the year coming to an end, the Business Professionals of America (BPA) closed their season in Orlando at nationals. For the seniors in attendance, BPA nationals came as one of the last experiences of high school.

Seniors Matt Warner and Baylee Dobler ended their high school and BPA careers with a bang.

“I’d say it [BPA nationals] went pretty well for Matt and I,” Dobler said. “We came home national champions.”

When they weren’t busy riding the rides at Disney World, Warner and Dobler were taking first in their respective divisions at the national contest.

“My event was [extemporary speaking],” Warner said. “They give us a prompt about business ethics and I have 10 minutes to give a five-minute memorized speech.”

To secure himself a spot as a national champion, Warner had a trick t0 put him ahead of the competition. 

“You get three note cards,” Warner said. “I feel like what made me a national champ is I do not use the note cards. It made me look more professional when it comes to business ethics and my knowledge of it.”

Although they went to BPA nationals as a group, Dobler’s contest division was separate from Warner’s.

“My event was interview skills,” Dobler said. “I had [preliminaries] the first day, and I came in and just did a typical mock interview.”

After her preliminary round, Dobler was chosen as one of the top 12 competitors to advance to the finals.

“Apparently they liked me so much that they sent me to the finals,” Dobler said. “In the finals I had an interview with two people and they just asked me various questions about the position I applied for which was the graphic design assistant. I was a national champion.”

Following their win at nationals, Dobler said she was nervous for what came next.

“I’m a little bit more anxious for what’s to come then I was in Orlando, but it’s [graduation] going great,” Dobler said.