Orchard View Schools

Muskegon Area Career Tech Center (MACTC) students spent nine hours last Saturday at Davenport University competing with over 500 students involved in the Business Professionals of America (BPA) Workplace Skills Competition for Region 1.  Of the 17 participating students, seven earned the right to advance to the State Leadership Workplace Skills Competition to be held at the Amway Grand Plaza Conference Center in Grand Rapids on March 18 - 21, 2010.  They are:

1. Zack Twork (Oakridge), 1st Place Payroll Accounting, 3rd place Computerized Accounting 

2. Matt Tarte (Orchard View), 2nd Place Computerized Accounting, 3rd Place Fundamental Accounting 

3.  Chad Bazzett (Montague), 1st Place PC Servicing and Troubleshooting, 2nd Place Computer Security 

4.  Mitch Staelens (Fruitport), 2nd Place Web Page Design Team 

5.  Dustin Cory, (North Muskegon), 2nd Place Web Page Design Team 

6.  Kody Hesselink (Orchard View), 3rd Place PC Servicing and Troubleshooting, 4th Place Computer Security

7.  Becky Wakefield (Oakridge), 1st Place Fundamentals of Web Page Design 

The BPA competitive events require the students to complete a written exam and demonstrate their skills through hands-on activities.  During the regional competition students competed in areas that included computerized accounting, payroll accounting, computer security, PC servicing and troubleshooting, and web page design.  

The participating students are currently enrolled in either the Financial Management/Accounting course or the Internet, Network & Security Technologies course at the MACTC.  One of the students, Zack Twork, won first place at the 2009 state competition and was named “2009 State Champion” in the Computerized Accounting competition.

BPA is a national co-curricular career and technical organization for high school, college and middle school students preparing for careers in business and information technology.  BPA is one of several extra-curricular Career Tech Student Organizations (CTSOs) offered by the Muskegon Area Career Tech Center.  Currently 196 students participate in CTSOs.