MCCTC students advance to national competition

STAFF REPORT

CANFIELD — Two Mahoning County Career and Technical Center students advanced to the national Business Professionals of America competition at the 2009 National Leadership Conference in Dallas in May.

Katie Kosela of Poland and Amanda Simkins of Chaney will represent MCCTC at the national competition and join more than 5,000 other conference delegates.

Kosela and Simkins competed in the Small Business Management Team event at the state competition. The national conference will include information technology skills competitions, workshops and academic sessions.

“The conference will be the culmination of a school year’s worth of information technology and business skills education and training, which members of the local chapter of Business Professionals of America at MCCTC have received,” said Helen Slack, chapter adviser and IT instructor.

In addition to the award won by Kosela and Simkins, MCCTC students Shane Fonner, Andrew Cain, Adam Porter and Dylan Purdy placed in the top 10 for Computer Animation Team, and Tabatha Crigger, Justin Robson and Ryan Frey placed in the top 10 for Presentation Management Skills.

Business Professionals of America is a national organization for high school, college and middle-school students preparing for careers in business and information technology.

The organization’s activities and programs complement classroom instruction with practical experiences for students through application.