Mariner BPA teams compete at national conference
Two teams of eighth-grade students from Mariner Middle School represented the Cape district and community at the 2025 Business Professionals of America National Leadership Conference held in May in Orlando, Fla.
2025 Mariner BPA Co-President Daisy Hughes took eighth place in word processing and was part of an administrative support team placing fourth. With these achievements, Daisy caps a total of 10 state and national titles combined. “No other BPA member in chapter (2017-current) or district (1964-current) history has amassed such success,” said Dr. Daniel Shockley, BPA advisor and business education teacher.
“This was my first year doing the individual competition at the national level,” said Hughes. “I competed against about 50 other students from around the world and finished in eighth place overall, which I’m very proud of. Winning my 10th title still feels surreal. It’s something I never imagined when I first joined BPA. I’m honored to represent my school and district, and I hope my success encourages and motivates younger students to want to participate in BPA as well.”
Themed Capture the Moment, the conference provided students with opportunities to showcase their skills, engage in leadership development, and network with peers and industry professionals.
The team of Lexi Delcampo, Jude Pressler, Ethan Schirmer and Sophia Winkfield competed in the administrative support division, with the the task to create a business plan for a family fun day event. Team members had to produce a variety of business materials including a letter, an Excel spreadsheet, a logo and a presentation/poster. “The team competition was really fun and challenging,” said Sophia. “The simulation itself lasted about two hours, and we ran into some obstacles during the logo design and submission process. Fortunately, that didn’t impact us too much, and we were still able to secure a second-place finish.”
Placing fourth was the administrative support team consisting of Bianca Booth, Linley Draper, Talli Farjon and Daisy Hughes. Daisy and Linley were part of the reigning 2024 national first-place administrative support team.
“[A total of] 6,800 students actively participated in this year’s National Leadership Conference, which makes it even more exciting that all the Mariner participants returned with national titles,” said Shockley. “Our students demonstrated incredible poise, professionalism and dedication throughout the entire experience. They worked tirelessly all year to prepare, and we couldn’t be prouder of how they represented Mariner and Cape on the national stage.”
“BPA has helped me become more confident and taught me how to be a better leader,” said Schirmer. “Going to nationals was an amazing opportunity. I learned so much and made new friends from all over the world.”
