XENIA — Several Xenia High School students recently competed at the state level of the Business Professionals of America (BPA) Leadership Conference in Columbus.

BPA is a national co-curricular, career/technical organization for students in middle school, high school, and college business and technology programs.

Hiba Loukssi was third in extemporaneous speech, in which participants were given a choice of two topics, 10 minutes to prepare (without access to the internet), and then deliver a two to four minute speech on the topic to a panel of judges. Loukssi advanced to the national competition to be held in Anaheim, California from April 26-30.

RJ Davis, Vincent Baker, and Chlo’e Moore-Comer were fourth in broadcast news production. The news production team created a five-minute video project that covered both a local and a national story.

Abby Seitz and Taylynn Hanson were sixth in video production. They created a five-minute video project about endangered species, focusing on the Masai Giraffe.

Allison Long was sixth in graphic design promotion. Long created “skins” for three devices for a fictional gaming company — a mobile device, laptop, and water bottle.

Keynote Convention Speeches: Trinity Cordell and Jaleiah McNeil received honorable mention in keynote convention speeches. They delivered their speeches to a crowd of more than 3,000 competitors.

Through BPA, Ohio students compete at the regional, state, and national levels in more than 50 workplace skills assessment program events, engage in community and leadership service activities, and meet business students across the state and country.