EMU Today

YPSILANTI - In just their second year on campus, Eastern Michigan University students in the Business Professionals of America chapter excelled during the organization's state conference, which took place on Feb. 11 at Davenport University in Grand Rapids. Seventeen EMU students attended the conference and were involved in 28 of the competitions.

The students were tested on a multitude of subjects, which included ethics, presentation, and management concepts. The top individuals or teams will advance to the BPA National Leadership Conference, which will take place from May 10-14 in Orlando.

Other schools that participated include: Central Michigan University, Michigan State University, Northwood University, Davenport University, Baker College, and others.

The following EMU students qualified for the national conference:

Matthew Leddy, of Saginaw, took first place in human resource management, and first place in project management concepts;


Monica Jurczyk, of Dearborn, took first place in ethics and professionalism;


Faraz Ansari, of Dearborn, took second place in management, marketing, and human resources concepts;


Lillia Sheline, of Berrien Springs, took second place in presentation management individual, and third place in entrepreneurship;

Kaitlin Boroniec, of Trenton, took second place in human resource management, and third place in ethics and professionalism;


Melanie Konja, of Rockwood, took second place in interview skills, and third in management, marketing, and human resources concepts;


Tayler Rodgers, of Leslie, took third place in advanced interview skills, and parliamentary procedure concepts;

Abigail Bongiorno, of De Pere, Wisconsin, took third in project management concepts;

Tyler Johnson, of Novi, took third place in computer network technology and;

Nate Kerfoot, of Ann Arbor, took fourth place in college payroll accounting.

The presentation management team, consisting of Eden Fisher (of Livonia), Johnica March (of Homer) and Emily Wheeler (of Livonia), and the administrative support team, made up of a group of former high school classmates from Swan Valley High School in Saginaw (Matthew Mrozinski, Nicholas Lynch, Matthew Leddy, and Michael Neilson), took first place in their respective competitions. Finally, the Small Business Management Team made up of Melanie Konja, Lillia Sheline, and Abigail Bongiorno took home the second place prize.

“I'm particularly proud of how our chapter performed in our second year,” said Matthew Leddy, who founded the inaugural EMU BPA chapter last year. “When I started this organization, I had hopes of continued growth and success, and we affirmed that goal this year by qualifying 16 of our 17 participating students for the national conference. Putting our skills to the test and performing so well against other Michigan schools is a true testament of the business education we receive at Eastern Michigan University.”

Nathaniel Kerfoot is the President of the EMU BPA chapter. Kerfoot said that he’s thankful for the continuing support from EMU organizations and faculty members.

“We would like to thank Dr. Phil Lewis, our faculty advisor, for attending the conference with us, and EMU Student Government for donating the funds to cover our conference registration fees,” Kerfoot said.

The Business Professionals of America organization works to develop leadership abilities, competency in business occupations and interest in the American business system. The Michigan branch of BPA has 10 college and universities. About 200 students attended the state conference this year. Nationally, BPA has 45,000 members in over 1,800 chapters in 25 states and Puerto Rico.

About Eastern Michigan University

Founded in 1849, Eastern is the second oldest university in Michigan. It currently serves 22,000 students pursuing undergraduate, graduate, specialist, doctoral and certificate degrees in the arts, sciences and professions. In all, more than 300 majors, minors and concentrations are delivered through the University's Colleges of Arts and Sciences; Business; Education; Health and Human Services; Technology, and its graduate school. EMU is regularly recognized by national publications for its excellence, diversity, and commitment to applied education. For more information about Eastern Michigan University, visit the University's website at emich.edu.